Teenage Girl Abducted by Boko Haram in 2014 Escapes from Sambisa Forest

A teenage girl, who was abducted at the age of 16 years by the Boko Haram in Mubi town of Adamawa State three years ago, has regained her freedom.

According to online Mumina Hamidu, who is now 19, had been held within the deadly forest of Sambisa for three years. During that period Mumina was put into family way.

She delivered her baby in the forest before the military began its major operation in the forest last year, during which Mumina was able to escape into the Cameroonian territory with her eight months old baby, reports revealed.

From Cameroon, Mumina, now 19 years old, tried to trace her path back to her hometown, Mubi. She was intercepted while wondering in the bush by operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Adamawa State.

“I was abducted from Nguwan Barkwano in Mubi town and I and some other girls were taken to Sambisa, where I was forced to marry one of the sect commanders, known as Ba’ana Kura”, said Mumina. “I was forced to accept the sum of N30, 000 from Ba’ana Kura as dowry,” she added.

She said her supposed husband, Ba’ana Kura, was still alive at the time she managed to escape into Cameroon.

Speaking to journalists in Yola weekend, the state Commandant of the NSCDC, Aliyu Ndanusa, said his men saw her trekking in the with an eight-month baby.
“When she was questioned, the young lady narrated that she was escaping from Sambisa forest where her Boko Haram abductor kept since 2014,” said the Commandant.

“She succeeded in escaping from Sambisa to Cameroon, where she was picked up by men of the corps while returning to Mubi. The lady and her baby would be handed over to the relevant authorities for proper rehabilitation.”

Ndanusa said such rescue of abducted girls was not new to his command. According to him his operatives had, been between January to date, helped in rescuing two such women from Sambisa. He said his men were also able to arrest an escapee Boko Haram suspect fleeing from Sambisa forest.

Apart from the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls that are officially being recognised as female abductees in the custody of Boko Haram, the outlawed group had abducted hundreds of women and girls mostly from the villages and hinterlands of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa state.

Some of the rescued females, especially those found in the main camps of the Boko Haram are said to be deeply radicalised – with some sharing strong sentiments of the insurgent groups.