Kidnapped Chibok School Girls Now Fighting For Boko Haram, Former Captive Says
Three women freed from Boko Haram militants are sharing their harrowing stories.
— -- Three women freed from Boko Haram militants are sharing their harrowing stories about their time in captivity. The women, all married to Boko Haram fighters, are part of a group of 128 women returned by the Nigerian military to the Borno state government in northeastern Nigeria.
In a disturbing new revelation, one of the recently freed women told ABC News that many of the Chibok school girls who were abducted in 2013 have become Boko Haram fighters.
According to 21-year-old Tabitha Adamu, she was captured alongside her mother after Boko Haram invaded her village. Her father and brother were killed in the attack, and she was soon separated from her mother.
In the custody of Boko Haram militants, she said she was asked to convert to Islam and received a new name. Tabitha was then forced to marry a member of Boko Haram who impregnated her.
“Many people asked me since we were liberated particularly about the pregnancy,” Tabitha told ABC News. “I don't know the right answer to give because I actually do not know what to do. I don't know what the authorities would do about it but I think it is too late to abort it. But my prayer is that I give birth safely."
Prior to her capture, Tabitha had completed high school and earned a certificate in computer appreciation. She said she is looking forward to her future now that the Borno government has promised to help her.
According to a report released by Amnesty International, at least 2,000 women and girls have been abducted by the terror group since the start of 2014. A separate report released by UNICEF last April said there is evidence that many of the young girls and women taken by Boko Haram are being subjected to forced marriage, forced labor and rape.
Fatima M. Usman, a high school student, was captured by Boko Haram from a palace in the town of Bama. She was forced into marriage with a Boko Haram militant in a camp for two months before she was rescued by the Nigerian military.
“I did not like the marriage but I have no option," Fatima told ABC News. She explained that unmarried women were raped frequently by Boko Haram fighters.
"It was better to stay with him than to be left among other women who were captured and are free to mingle as free women in the camps,” she said.
The governor of Borno has promised to help Fatima by paying her schools fees so she can continue her education.
Hauwa Haruna was not captured by Boko Haram, but instead married a fighter unknowingly. She learned her husband was a Boko Haram militant after he relocated her to a camp last year. Hauwa, now eight months pregnant, said she was rescued by the military when they invaded the camp and her husband ran away.
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