Meriam, one of the hostages recently rescued from Boko Haram, has spoken about her time in captivity.
In particular, she described how the insurgents train abducted girls and women for suicide missions. Other abductees also recalled their shocking ordeal.
Meriam
The 36-year-old victim who is currently at a Maiduguri camp for displaced people spoke with the New York Times.
Meriam described the process of preparation for the suicide bombings in detail.
“The Boko Haram would recite the prayer for the dead. Then they would put on the hijab,” covering the suicide belt.
“They said, ‘God will forgive us,’ Then, they would enter the vehicles, and they would send the women away.”
Chibok girls
The former captive also said she had seen some of the Chibok girls at Gwoza hospital adding that they had apparently been given special status by Boko Haram.
Other victims speak up
The interviewed females said they had been kept in groups and forced into sexual relationships with the militants. Sometimes the aim was to impregnate the abductees.
Hamsatu, aged 25, said “they married me” and revealed she was four months pregnant by a Boko Haram member.
“They chose the ones they wanted to marry. If anybody shouts, they said they would shoot them.”
Yahauwa, 30, who tested positive for HIV after the rescue, asked the relief doctor with her eyes full of tears:
“Is it from the people who forced me to have affairs with them?..
“When they came, they would select the one they wanted to sleep with. They said, ‘If you do not marry us, we will slaughter you.’ ”
A young woman Yana, who could not even recall her age, was kept together with 50 other women in a house in Bama, Borno state.
“If they want to have an affair with a woman, they will just take her to a private place, so that the others won’t see.”
The relief workers said she had been raped so often that the psychological trauma was devastating.
Borno authorities
Kashim Shettima, the Borno state governor said that many of the women had been impregnated intentionally for another generation of the insurgents to emerge.
“The sect leaders make a very conscious effort to impregnate the women. Some of them, I was told, even pray before mating, offering supplications for God to make the products of what they are doing become children that will inherit their ideology,” he said.
Abba Mohammed Bashir Shuwa, an official from Maiduguri, added:
“It’s like they wanted to have their own siblings, to take over from them.”
The claim was confirmed by Hadiza Waziri, a relief representative.
“We are going to have another set of Boko Haram. Most of these women now, they don’t want these pregnancies. You cannot love the child.”
More killings and abductions recorded
Meanwhile Sabongari town in Madagali LGA of Adamawa state was stormed by the Boko Haram militants over the weekend. The fighters killed many people and abducted six women, Vanguard reports.
Musa, one of the locals, said that the insurgents had arrived at about 10 pm Sunday night and started shooting sporadically.
The attack comes amid a series of successful anti-Boko Haram operations carried out by the Nigerian military in the northeast.
However, Muhammadu Buhari, the president-elect, yesterday criticized the army over their inability to protect Nigerians calling such a situation shameful.
Meriam
The 36-year-old victim who is currently at a Maiduguri camp for displaced people spoke with the New York Times.
Meriam described the process of preparation for the suicide bombings in detail.
“The Boko Haram would recite the prayer for the dead. Then they would put on the hijab,” covering the suicide belt.
“They said, ‘God will forgive us,’ Then, they would enter the vehicles, and they would send the women away.”
Chibok girls
The former captive also said she had seen some of the Chibok girls at Gwoza hospital adding that they had apparently been given special status by Boko Haram.
Other victims speak up
The interviewed females said they had been kept in groups and forced into sexual relationships with the militants. Sometimes the aim was to impregnate the abductees.
Hamsatu, aged 25, said “they married me” and revealed she was four months pregnant by a Boko Haram member.
“They chose the ones they wanted to marry. If anybody shouts, they said they would shoot them.”
Yahauwa, 30, who tested positive for HIV after the rescue, asked the relief doctor with her eyes full of tears:
“Is it from the people who forced me to have affairs with them?..
“When they came, they would select the one they wanted to sleep with. They said, ‘If you do not marry us, we will slaughter you.’ ”
A young woman Yana, who could not even recall her age, was kept together with 50 other women in a house in Bama, Borno state.
“If they want to have an affair with a woman, they will just take her to a private place, so that the others won’t see.”
The relief workers said she had been raped so often that the psychological trauma was devastating.
Borno authorities
Kashim Shettima, the Borno state governor said that many of the women had been impregnated intentionally for another generation of the insurgents to emerge.
“The sect leaders make a very conscious effort to impregnate the women. Some of them, I was told, even pray before mating, offering supplications for God to make the products of what they are doing become children that will inherit their ideology,” he said.
Abba Mohammed Bashir Shuwa, an official from Maiduguri, added:
“It’s like they wanted to have their own siblings, to take over from them.”
The claim was confirmed by Hadiza Waziri, a relief representative.
“We are going to have another set of Boko Haram. Most of these women now, they don’t want these pregnancies. You cannot love the child.”
More killings and abductions recorded
Meanwhile Sabongari town in Madagali LGA of Adamawa state was stormed by the Boko Haram militants over the weekend. The fighters killed many people and abducted six women, Vanguard reports.
Musa, one of the locals, said that the insurgents had arrived at about 10 pm Sunday night and started shooting sporadically.
The attack comes amid a series of successful anti-Boko Haram operations carried out by the Nigerian military in the northeast.
However, Muhammadu Buhari, the president-elect, yesterday criticized the army over their inability to protect Nigerians calling such a situation shameful.
