Three Cameroonian aid workers, employed by a French NGO, who were abducted in Cameroon’s jihadist-plagued northern region, have been released in Nigeria after spending 100 days in captivity, according to their organization speaking to AFP.
Olivier Routeau, the head of operations at Premiere Urgence Internationale (PUI), disclosed that the two men and one woman were freed near Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria, approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Cameroonian border.
While Routeau noted it’s too early to confirm their health status, he expressed relief that they are safe and shaken but physically unharmed, as evidenced by the photographs received, showing them smiling.
Further details regarding the circumstances of their release or the identity of their captors were not immediately available, Routeau explained, but he mentioned that the Nigerian army facilitated their retrieval.
The aid workers were initially seized on January 10 in the village of Yeme in Cameroon’s Far North region, where they were engaged in efforts to address food security and combat malnutrition, as previously stated by PUI.
The Far North region of Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria have witnessed a surge in violence attributed to the activities of the Boko Haram jihadist group and its rival faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
These militants often perpetrate killings and abductions of civilians for ransom. Additionally, various criminal organizations frequently seize civilians for financial gain, typically releasing them in exchange for payment.
Established in Cameroon since 2008, PUI focuses on meeting the healthcare, nutritional, and educational needs of communities affected by armed conflicts.
This incident echoes a similar occurrence in March 2022 when five staff members of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) were freed in Nigeria after being abducted a month earlier in Cameroon’s Far North region.
