Chibok school girl recounts how she escaped Boko Haram kidnappers
A young girl who was one of the school girls kidnapped from a school in Chibok, Nigeria testified before a House Foreign Affairs committee about how she managed to escape Boko Haram.
Sa'a (not her real name) said the Boko Haram attacked her school at night while they were sleeping. She said they gathered all the students and led them to a convoy waiting miles away from the school and forced them to board the trucks, threatening to kill those who would not obey. The vehicles left and made their way into the forest.
As Sa'a sat in the moving truck along with the other kidnapped girls, she decided to jump, thinking it would be better to die than to be taken captive by the Islamic terrorist group. Although she was able to escape, Sa'a said she still feels sad for those who were left behind.
As of April this year, it has been two years since Boko Haram took the Chibok school girls.
"I have twice escaped from Boko Haram attacks on my schools, but many have not," CBN News quoted Sa'a as saying. "Many live in fear every day. Their homes were burnt, so many people didn't have a place to sleep, food to eat or clothes to wear. They are now IDPs in other places."
Out of the 270 girls who were abducted, about 50 have managed to escape, but most of them are still missing, according to a Reuters report.
Rep. Chris Smith said these girls could have been forced into marriage with Boko Haram members or forced into prostitution.
"We now receive reports that some of them may be used as suicide bombers," he said. He advocated for better collaboration between the U.S. and Nigeria.
On Saturday, May 14, Nigerian Pres. Muhammadu Buhari spoke at the Second Regional Security Summit and said that the country's armed forces have crippled the Boko Haram. The Islamic terrorist group is now hiding in Sambisa forest, according to local media This Day.
Buhari said the armed forces have two more major tasks to finish: weakening the Islamic terrorist group hiding in Sambisa forest and rescuing the Chibok school girls.
"Let me reiterate our firm commitment to safely rescue and re-unite the abducted Chibok girls with their families. Our government will not spare any effort to achieve this important mission," the Nigerian president stated.
