The Islamic State West Africa Province, (ISWAP), held 76 farmers for two days in the north-eastern State of Borno, near the border of Cameroon for two days before releasing them, according to militia sources on Tuesday.
The ISWAP fighters kidnapped the farmers from a displaced peoples camp in Ngala last Friday, while they were burning thick vegetation to make a clearing for their harvest, the sources said.
The men, women and children were taken to a camp in the nearby town of Chikongudo under ISWAP control where they were kept until Sunday, the militia sources said.
ISWAP had warned farmers from burning shrubs and thicket in the area which give them cover from Nigerian troops, militia leader Umar Kachalla told AFP, adding that the farmers were released after the men were flogged as punishment and warning.
ISWAP splintered from Boko Haram in 2016 and became their main rival. They decided to part ways due to disagreements over Boko Harams indiscriminate targeting of Muslim civilians and use of children and women as suicide bombers.
Both groups, however, have increasingly targetted loggers, farmers, and herders, believing that they were spies that transmit information to the military and the local militia resisting them. They also raid herding communities to seize their cattle to raise money essential for their operations.
Since 2009, terrorist groups have killed 40,000 and displaced two million people in the North-East region.
