Boko Haram, the extremist group responsible for kidnapping over 200 Nigerian schoolgirls in April (who still have not been returned), has now kidnapped the wife of the vice prime minister of Cameroon, officials say, in a wave of militant extremism across Nigeria and Cameroon.

The BBC reports that the vice PM's wife was abducted from the northern Cameroonian town of Kolofata early Sunday morning. According to Information Minister Issa Tchiroma, Amadou Ali, Cameroon's Vice PM, was able to escape to a neighboring town with the help of security officials.

Tchiroma confirms that at least three are dead in the attack that resulted in the kidnapping in Kolofata.

Reuters reports:

The Sunday attack is the third Boko Haram attack into Cameroon since Friday. At least four soldiers were killed in the previous attacks. Meanwhile, some 22 suspected Boko Haram militants, who have been held in Maroua since March, were on Friday sentenced to prison sentences ranging from 10 to 20 years. It was unclear whether the events are related.

Boko Haram have killed hundreds of people this year, mostly in northeastern Nigeria, although they have bombed places across the country.

According to the BBC, many Nigerian citizens have fled to neighboring Cameroon to escape the violence, but "Cameroon's long and porous border with Nigeria means Boko Haram fighters can come and go at will," the report says.

[Image via AP]