https://punchng.com/how-boko-haram-...echanic-for-over-seven-years-escaped-members/
Some forcefully recruited Boko Haram members who were able to escape from the terrorists’ den in North-East’s Sambisa Forest have revealed how they were abducted, forced to do the bidding of the terrorists and their escape.
The returnees, mostly teenagers when they were abducted, explained that they were abducted alongside other family members, adding that some died along the way while they lost contact with the others when they got to the camp.
Our correspondent who was able to meet some of them discreetly in a military facility where they were being held learnt that there were many captives still in the custody of the terrorists and that anyone caught while attempting to escape was usually killed.
Jibrin, married off to one of the commanders of the late Abubakar Shekau, stated, “We were at home that Monday evening around 4:30 pm and I was preparing food for the family when we heard gunshots. We quickly made attempts to run to safety but we were blocked by the insurgents. We didn’t know they had taken over the town, so they abducted my two sisters, three brothers and me. They killed many people on sight.
“Only my mum and our youngest sibling escaped it; they had gone to the market. I later discovered they crossed to Cameroon when they heard the gunshots. We lived in a border community. My sisters died on our way to Sambisa Forest due to fatigue and I don’t know if my brothers are still alive because I never saw them again.
Asked about her experience in the forest, she said it could aptly be described as “hell” as she and others she met there were married off to the fighters.
She added, “I was married off to one of Shekau’s commanders, Abakar, who had many foot soldiers and he took me to his thatched house where we lived for seven years. He was mean; he serially abused me sexually and did all manner of inhuman things to me….
Speaking further, she said Shekau, their leader, gathered the women on several occasions and encouraged them to join the fighters to combat the government whom he tagged as infidels. “He told us anyone fighting against the Boko Haram is an infidel and killing them will earn us a place in paradise,” she added….
Another victim, 19-year-old Hassan Ibrahim (not real names), told our correspondent he was abducted from a village in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State and was forced to become a fighter.
He said, “I was a Boko Haram fighter for three years. They came to our village and took us to N’Djamena (the capital of Chad) where they trained us how to handle weapons. We used to sneak into Nigeria to launch attacks. I operated from the Gajigana axis under the leadership of Shekau. After launching attacks, we would retreat to N’Djamena. After Shekau’s death, Nigerian troops got into the camp and arrested us. We had nowhere to go other than to surrender to the military.
“I have never gone to school but I know a little of the Quran. We only depended on our commanders to interpret the Quran for us and we carried out instructions from our commander. My commander was Malam Abu Rash. I learnt he has also surrendered.”
He said he never met Shekau, adding that he was sure he was killed by insurgents loyal to Mamman Nur. He noted that they were warned never to return to dump the Islamic sect.
He said, “They told us to join hands with them to fight the government and the military because they are enemies of God and that it is our duty to kill God’s enemies. They told us that it was the only way we could make paradise. They gave us sophisticated weapons with magazines and ammunition and sent us to the battlefield.”…
Similarly, 24-year-old Mustapha Hakeem said he was also abducted from a village in Bama Local Government Area six years ago, noting that he served the terrorists as their mechanic, having left butchery for mechanic apprenticeship before he was abducted….
He said they regularly raided villages to abduct people, after which they indoctrinated them and made them see the government and people of other religions as infidels who deserved to be killed.
He noted, “They are told that if they kill any infidel, they would have a place in paradise because they were fighting for God. They would call the names of their fighters who died while fighting and that they were now in paradise. By the time they were done, people would be left with no alternative but to take up arms and join them.”…
Hakeem said he always listened to his radio and that he heard many Islamic scholars preach against Boko Haram which made him realise the deceit in what the insurgents taught them….
Asked one of the things he observed from the camp, he said the level of illiteracy made it easier for them to recruit fighters, calling on government to embark on a massive education drive to enlighten the citizens on the dangers of terrorism.
“This is because the majority of Boko Haram fighters today are illiterates recruited as a result of their lack of education,” he added. “The majority of them believe what Shekau and his commanders tell them.
“The government must pay serious attention to providing massive education, both quranic and conventional education because that is when these villagers will be able to identify the truth.”…
Some forcefully recruited Boko Haram members who were able to escape from the terrorists’ den in North-East’s Sambisa Forest have revealed how they were abducted, forced to do the bidding of the terrorists and their escape.
The returnees, mostly teenagers when they were abducted, explained that they were abducted alongside other family members, adding that some died along the way while they lost contact with the others when they got to the camp.
Our correspondent who was able to meet some of them discreetly in a military facility where they were being held learnt that there were many captives still in the custody of the terrorists and that anyone caught while attempting to escape was usually killed.
I was forcefully married, had baby for top Shekau’s commander, says 20-year-old member
One of the victims, 20-year-old Hassana Jibrin, who spent seven years in the terrorists’ den, recalled that she and her five siblings were abducted in Gamboru Ngala shortly after they lost their father on Maiduguri-Gamboru Road.Jibrin, married off to one of the commanders of the late Abubakar Shekau, stated, “We were at home that Monday evening around 4:30 pm and I was preparing food for the family when we heard gunshots. We quickly made attempts to run to safety but we were blocked by the insurgents. We didn’t know they had taken over the town, so they abducted my two sisters, three brothers and me. They killed many people on sight.
“Only my mum and our youngest sibling escaped it; they had gone to the market. I later discovered they crossed to Cameroon when they heard the gunshots. We lived in a border community. My sisters died on our way to Sambisa Forest due to fatigue and I don’t know if my brothers are still alive because I never saw them again.
Asked about her experience in the forest, she said it could aptly be described as “hell” as she and others she met there were married off to the fighters.
She added, “I was married off to one of Shekau’s commanders, Abakar, who had many foot soldiers and he took me to his thatched house where we lived for seven years. He was mean; he serially abused me sexually and did all manner of inhuman things to me….
Speaking further, she said Shekau, their leader, gathered the women on several occasions and encouraged them to join the fighters to combat the government whom he tagged as infidels. “He told us anyone fighting against the Boko Haram is an infidel and killing them will earn us a place in paradise,” she added….
Another victim, 19-year-old Hassan Ibrahim (not real names), told our correspondent he was abducted from a village in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State and was forced to become a fighter.
He said, “I was a Boko Haram fighter for three years. They came to our village and took us to N’Djamena (the capital of Chad) where they trained us how to handle weapons. We used to sneak into Nigeria to launch attacks. I operated from the Gajigana axis under the leadership of Shekau. After launching attacks, we would retreat to N’Djamena. After Shekau’s death, Nigerian troops got into the camp and arrested us. We had nowhere to go other than to surrender to the military.
“I have never gone to school but I know a little of the Quran. We only depended on our commanders to interpret the Quran for us and we carried out instructions from our commander. My commander was Malam Abu Rash. I learnt he has also surrendered.”
He said he never met Shekau, adding that he was sure he was killed by insurgents loyal to Mamman Nur. He noted that they were warned never to return to dump the Islamic sect.
He said, “They told us to join hands with them to fight the government and the military because they are enemies of God and that it is our duty to kill God’s enemies. They told us that it was the only way we could make paradise. They gave us sophisticated weapons with magazines and ammunition and sent us to the battlefield.”…
Similarly, 24-year-old Mustapha Hakeem said he was also abducted from a village in Bama Local Government Area six years ago, noting that he served the terrorists as their mechanic, having left butchery for mechanic apprenticeship before he was abducted….
He said they regularly raided villages to abduct people, after which they indoctrinated them and made them see the government and people of other religions as infidels who deserved to be killed.
He noted, “They are told that if they kill any infidel, they would have a place in paradise because they were fighting for God. They would call the names of their fighters who died while fighting and that they were now in paradise. By the time they were done, people would be left with no alternative but to take up arms and join them.”…
Hakeem said he always listened to his radio and that he heard many Islamic scholars preach against Boko Haram which made him realise the deceit in what the insurgents taught them….
Asked one of the things he observed from the camp, he said the level of illiteracy made it easier for them to recruit fighters, calling on government to embark on a massive education drive to enlighten the citizens on the dangers of terrorism.
“This is because the majority of Boko Haram fighters today are illiterates recruited as a result of their lack of education,” he added. “The majority of them believe what Shekau and his commanders tell them.
“The government must pay serious attention to providing massive education, both quranic and conventional education because that is when these villagers will be able to identify the truth.”…
