Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum on Monday received six women and nine children who held for months by the extremist group Boko Haram in the northeast region of Nigeria.
An official of the state government made this known.
The 15 women and children where said to have been abducted in two separate incidents in October 2020 and May 2021 when the terrorist group laid siege on their villages in Borno and Adamawa states.
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The two states in recent months during the heat of the insurgency were badly affected by the group, according to Zuwaira Gambo, the commissioner for women affairs in Borno.
“Today is one of our happiest moments for us to see these young girls and women that were abducted by the insurgents,” Zulum said Monday, attributing their freedom to “prayers and ongoing reconciliation and reintegration programs” in Borno state.
The governor said he is hoping for “absolute peace” that would bring an end to the 10-year-old extremist insurgency in which thousands have died and many others kidnapped while others made refugees in neighbouring countries.
Gambo added that the women and children made a long walk for six days through the Buni Yadi forest until they were discovered by security forces and taken to safety in Borno state.
Boko Haram and its offshoot the Islamic State West Africa Province have targeted women and children in attacks in northeast Nigeria.
More than 1,000 children have been kidnapped since 2013, according to the U.N. development agency. That includes the 2014 abduction of 276 girls from a school in Chibok which drew international outrage. More than 100 of the Chibok girls are still missing.
“Abducted women have been subjected to violence and abuse and used as spies, fighters, and suicide bombers,” the UNDP said in a 2020 report.
“Women who have escaped or been released are not always welcomed back to their communities and those returning from captivity or involvement with armed groups do not have access to the training, counseling, and reintegration programs that target men,” said the report.
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