from Sambisa forest to the Malkohi Internally Displaced Persons
(IDPs) Camp on the outskirts of Yola, Adamawa State capital. The
victims, women and children, were driven into the camp amid tight
security. They arrived the camp after almost three days journey which
forced the victims to be exhausted. Many of them, especially kids,
could not alight from the vehicles that brought them. They had to be
assisted by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency,
NEMA, the Red Cross, the military and other agencies in the camp.
The children looked malnourished. But more worrisome is the fact
that many of them had gunshot injuries. The journey from Sambisa to
Yola lasted over 72 hours owing to many reasons. One, the military had
to do a mop up of the roads in the forest to clear landmines
believed to have been planted in the dreaded forest by the fleeing
insurgents. A military bulldozer had to be used to clear the roads
for the vehicles conveying the victims to have access to the road
linking Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
Another reason for the three-day journey as adduced by the military,
was the fact that the trip had to be broken into phases to reduce the
stress for the former hostages.
Lami Musa, a 27-year old housewife, who gave birth to a baby a day
before the victims left Sambisa, was among the 275 victims who
survived the long drive.
On arrival in the camp, the victims were treated to a taste of
Nigerian foods. Their states of origin cut across the three
north-eastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe worst affected by the
Boko Haram attacks. They were captured from different remote areas of
the three states during occasional Boko Haram raids.
The victims narrated how they were captured, how they were moved to
Sambisa forest, their horror in the hands of the insurgents and how
they regained freedom.
Mrs. Lami Musa, a mother of four who gave birth to a baby girl barely
three days before the military moved her and others from Sambisa
enroute to the IDPs camp, told her story. Her husband, an artisan, was
killed in their Damboa town when the insurgents came calling. She
narrated: "I was two months pregnant then when the insurgents invaded
the town at about 6pm one Monday in August 2014. As sporadic gunshots
enveloped the town, able bodied men, including our husbands, among
others, fled to the bush. The invaders ordered us to follow them. The
trip which some of us made in vehicles while others trekked took us
almost two days to get to their camp".
Another victim, Mrs. Talatu Maina, an indigene of Madagali, Adamawa
State, claimed she, along with many others was abducted in September
last year along the borders of Borno and Adamawa State. She said they
were returning from a local market when they were ambushed and driven
straight into Sambisa forest.
"The male passengers among us were slaughtered instantly. On reaching
Sambisa forest, we met hundreds of other women and children", she
stated. Talatu disclosed that life in the Boko Haram enclave was
simple in the sense that the captives were directed to choose their
leaders in all fields of human endeavour. "We had our leaders in
Islamic affairs, food and general welfare of the camp", she disclosed.
Mrs. Hannatu, also a returnee, said: "We did the cooking ourselves
from the corn provided by Boko Haram. The corns were normally ground,
but not filtered, even as the only soup was the local 'Mia Kuka' or
leaves of baobab tree. We ate twice daily, except our little children
who ate at random depending on availability of food".
Commenting on how Boko Haram people conducted themselves, Mrs.
Hannatu, a mother of six, confessed that where they were camped was
not close to the residence of the Boko Haram leaders. She said there
was a gap of about five to six kilometers between their camp and the
Boko Haram leaders residence, adding, "Only gunmen between the ages of
12-14 years stayed with us round the clock as our guards"..
"We only saw the leaders in their motor and motorcycle convoy each
time they were going or returning from operations. If they were going
for operation, they will stop at a distance. The boys guarding us will
run to them for update on our upkeep. Then they will zoom off, their
vehicles leaving behind a thick dust. We will only see them again when
they are returning from operation; this time around, foodstuff
confiscated from the operation will be dropped for us," she explained.
She disclosed that while cooking in the daytime, they used
underground kitchens to prevent the smoke from attracting the
bombardment, of the Nigeria military jet fighters.
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