182 Freed Boko Haram Suspects Narrate Their Ordeal
On July 6, during the celebration of the Nigeria Army Day, Lieutenant General Kenneth Minimah, the chief of army staff, freed 182 Boko Haram suspects.
Minimah said that the suspects were cleared by the military authorities after thorough investigations.
One of the freed suspects is a physically ill and scraggly woman in her early 30s. While her other 180 freed colleagues celebrated, the absent-minded woman did not pay attention to anything happening around her, not even the cry of her three-month-old baby.
A 26-year-old woman Falmata Abba, who is also lucky to be among the freed suspects, said: “We have been unable to get her to tell us her name or from where she came, since we were brought in as suspected Boko Haram terrorists about a year ago. She came here pregnant, but for over 10 months she (the sick woman) has remained like this (not talking to any one).
“She does not respond to anything anyone says; even if she does, she does not respond in speech. I became her care-giver when she delivered her baby and, now, she no longer cares when it is time to breast-feed the baby. At times, she beats the baby and we have to rush to rescue the girl from her.
READ ALSO: Anambra Citizens Protests Alleged Relocation Of Boko Haram Detainees
“She may be suffering from some kind of trauma, because, from her looks and the way her eyes rotate, she must have experienced something evil. I presently take care of her baby, who I have to feed with processed baby food, since the mother refused to breast-feed her.”
Abba has confessed that she does not know what to do with the nursing mother she is saddled with.
“For all the time we have been in the detention as suspects, I have been her care-giver. I don’t know what will become of the woman and her baby, because I have to go home now,” she said.
Leadership reports that the freed people comprised of 100 men, 40 boys, 24 women and 18 small children, were handed over to Kashim Shettima, the governor of Borno state. The state government stated that it would convey them to an undisclosed location, from where they would be allowed to return to their communities and normal lives.
However, a large number of the freed people still think that their lives were snatched from them the day they were arrested.
READ ALSO: I Watched As My Children Were Blown Up – Jos Bombing Survivor Recounts Her Ordeal
Abba, who is an accounting student of the University of Maiduguri, was taken from her home 13 months ago.
“I was ‘picked’ alongside two of my family members by security operatives who accused us of being Boko Haram members. We were not maltreated during our stay at the military facility. They actually took care of us, gave us food, clothing and allowed us to take our bath regularly, which is why I am thanking God. I am happy that I am going home to meet my family and, possibly, continue with my education,” she said.
Another freed victim, Binta Ahamdu, a mother-of-three, said that the security agents ‘picked’ her at a housing estate in Maiduguri about a year ago.
“I live in the 500-unit housing estate with my children when they came to arrest me, claiming that I ‘know something’ about Boko Haram. But God has been there for me and they found out that I am innocent. My husband died some years back and people felt he might have been a Boko Haram member. I don’t know anything about that; all I know is that he was a good husband and father to us. I was brought here without my little son who was barely a year then. I had to plead before I was allowed to have my son join me here in detention. But I thank God we are fine and free today,” she said.
READ ALSO: Nigeria Should Be Prepared For Post Boko Haram Period – UN
Falmata Bukar recalled that she was speaking with her husband over the phone when soldiers invaded her home and accused her of being an ‘accomplice’ of the Boko Haram.
“I live in London-Chiki area of Maiduguri. On the day I was arrested and brought here, I was on phone speaking with my husband who drives fuel tanker. They said I was a wife of a Boko Haram member and has been helping to keep guns for my husband and other members. I begged them, saying I knew nothing about that, but they insisted on arresting me and bringing me to the barracks. Though I was not harmed here in the barracks, initially I suffered serious trauma thinking that I could be killed as we often hear of many who die in detention, but I am alive and free today.”
A teenager Usman Lawal said during an attack on his village in Gunduga by Boko Haram terrorists everyone ran.
“It was while I was running in the bush that the soldiers found me and asked if I knew Boko Haram and I said ‘no’. They agreed and ordered that I follow them to the barracks. I have been here for about two months now,” he said.
One of the freed suspects complained that he could not go back to his home around Shehuri area of the metropolis because many of his neighbours believe that he must have had some dealings with the Boko Haram sect.
Meanwhile, the military officials have been silent on the number of Boko Haram suspects it found guilty amongst those who were arrested.
READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/482984-182-freed-boko-haram-suspects-narrate-their-ordeal.htmlMinimah said that the suspects were cleared by the military authorities after thorough investigations.
One of the freed suspects is a physically ill and scraggly woman in her early 30s. While her other 180 freed colleagues celebrated, the absent-minded woman did not pay attention to anything happening around her, not even the cry of her three-month-old baby.
A 26-year-old woman Falmata Abba, who is also lucky to be among the freed suspects, said: “We have been unable to get her to tell us her name or from where she came, since we were brought in as suspected Boko Haram terrorists about a year ago. She came here pregnant, but for over 10 months she (the sick woman) has remained like this (not talking to any one).
“She does not respond to anything anyone says; even if she does, she does not respond in speech. I became her care-giver when she delivered her baby and, now, she no longer cares when it is time to breast-feed the baby. At times, she beats the baby and we have to rush to rescue the girl from her.
READ ALSO: Anambra Citizens Protests Alleged Relocation Of Boko Haram Detainees
“She may be suffering from some kind of trauma, because, from her looks and the way her eyes rotate, she must have experienced something evil. I presently take care of her baby, who I have to feed with processed baby food, since the mother refused to breast-feed her.”
“For all the time we have been in the detention as suspects, I have been her care-giver. I don’t know what will become of the woman and her baby, because I have to go home now,” she said.
Leadership reports that the freed people comprised of 100 men, 40 boys, 24 women and 18 small children, were handed over to Kashim Shettima, the governor of Borno state. The state government stated that it would convey them to an undisclosed location, from where they would be allowed to return to their communities and normal lives.
However, a large number of the freed people still think that their lives were snatched from them the day they were arrested.
READ ALSO: I Watched As My Children Were Blown Up – Jos Bombing Survivor Recounts Her Ordeal
Abba, who is an accounting student of the University of Maiduguri, was taken from her home 13 months ago.
“I was ‘picked’ alongside two of my family members by security operatives who accused us of being Boko Haram members. We were not maltreated during our stay at the military facility. They actually took care of us, gave us food, clothing and allowed us to take our bath regularly, which is why I am thanking God. I am happy that I am going home to meet my family and, possibly, continue with my education,” she said.
Another freed victim, Binta Ahamdu, a mother-of-three, said that the security agents ‘picked’ her at a housing estate in Maiduguri about a year ago.
“I live in the 500-unit housing estate with my children when they came to arrest me, claiming that I ‘know something’ about Boko Haram. But God has been there for me and they found out that I am innocent. My husband died some years back and people felt he might have been a Boko Haram member. I don’t know anything about that; all I know is that he was a good husband and father to us. I was brought here without my little son who was barely a year then. I had to plead before I was allowed to have my son join me here in detention. But I thank God we are fine and free today,” she said.
READ ALSO: Nigeria Should Be Prepared For Post Boko Haram Period – UN
Falmata Bukar recalled that she was speaking with her husband over the phone when soldiers invaded her home and accused her of being an ‘accomplice’ of the Boko Haram.
“I live in London-Chiki area of Maiduguri. On the day I was arrested and brought here, I was on phone speaking with my husband who drives fuel tanker. They said I was a wife of a Boko Haram member and has been helping to keep guns for my husband and other members. I begged them, saying I knew nothing about that, but they insisted on arresting me and bringing me to the barracks. Though I was not harmed here in the barracks, initially I suffered serious trauma thinking that I could be killed as we often hear of many who die in detention, but I am alive and free today.”
A teenager Usman Lawal said during an attack on his village in Gunduga by Boko Haram terrorists everyone ran.
“It was while I was running in the bush that the soldiers found me and asked if I knew Boko Haram and I said ‘no’. They agreed and ordered that I follow them to the barracks. I have been here for about two months now,” he said.
One of the freed suspects complained that he could not go back to his home around Shehuri area of the metropolis because many of his neighbours believe that he must have had some dealings with the Boko Haram sect.
Meanwhile, the military officials have been silent on the number of Boko Haram suspects it found guilty amongst those who were arrested.
At least 33 killed in three attacks in northeast Nigeria
Kano, Nigeria (CNN)Militants believed to be with Boko Haram
killed at least 33 people in three separate attacks in northeastern
Nigeria, a lawmaker, residents and civilian vigilantes who oppose the
Islamist terror group said Wednesday.
All the attacks took place in Borno state, which has been among the areas most targeted in recent years by Boko Haram.
The
deadliest happened around 5 p.m. (noon ET) Tuesday, when gunmen
barricaded a highway linking Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, and
Damaturu, the capital of neighboring Yobe state, and killed more than 20
motorists, federal lawmaker Mohammed Sanda said.
These
attackers -- who Sanda said were Boko Haram militants -- then stormed
the village of Ngamdu, setting homes on fire and spurring residents to
flee, said the lawmaker said.
Nigeria's President-elect vows to stop Boko Haram 10:01
Boko
Haram gunmen also ambushed and killed eight people traveling on a
lorry, or large truck, from Maiduguri to the town of Baga, which is on
the shore of Lake Chad, local vigilantes said.
Those
on the vehicle had fled Baga due to the militant group's bloody advance
and were heading home after Nigeria's military reclaimed their
hometown. They were about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) away when gunmen
attacked around 4 p.m. Tuesday, shot the eight passengers in the head,
then fled into the nearby bush, according to the vigilantes.
And
in Damasak -- a town taken by Boko Haram last November that's just a
few miles away from Niger -- dozens of militants burned structures and
killed at least five people, residents said. This attack came shortly
after Chadian troops, which had warned people to evacuate, pulled out of
Damasak.
Nigeria's years-long fight against Boko Haram
Such
violence has plagued this region for years, with Boko Haram proving
time and again its willingness to kill innocent civilians as well as
government officials and Nigerian troops.
In
addition to sporadic raids, the reviled terrorist group has bombed
marketplaces, churches and mosques and other public gathering spots and
conducted mass kidnappings -- the most notorious being last year's abduction of more than 200 girls from a school in the northeastern city of Chibok. Those girls' fate remains a mystery.
Boko
Haram's aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across
Nigeria, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly
Christian south. And it has struck in many places, though the northeast
part of the African nation has been hit most relentlessly.
Bombings kill at least 28 in Northeast Nigeria 01:11
While
claiming some victories, Nigeria's military hasn't been able to stifle
this onslaught. In fact, attacks have spiked since the May presidential
inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari, a former general who defeated
incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria's first democratic transition of
power.
Earlier this week, Buhari
replaced all service chiefs -- from the defense, army, navy, air and
defense intelligence departments, along with the national security
adviser -- who'd worked for his predecessor, an expected though still
potentially significant move in the country's fight against Boko Haram.
What the new president will do next isn't known, beyond his promise to move Nigeria's military command center to Maiduguri.
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