One of the missing schoolgirls abducted by
the fighters of the Boko Haram Islamic
sect from Government Secondary School,
Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2014,
Amina Ali Nkeki, has been found, the
Nigerian Army has said.
Activists also told the BBC that Amina was
found by a vigilante group on Tuesday in
Sambisa Forest, close to the border with
Cameroon.
Amina was reportedly recognised by a
civilian fighter. She told her rescuers that
six of her abducted colleagues had died
while others were being held in Sambisa
Forest by their abductors.
The fighter belonged to the Civilian Joint
Task Force, a vigilante group set up to help
fight Boko Haram.
Aboku Gaji, leader of the vigilante group in
Chibok, said, “The moment this girl was
discovered by our vigilantes, she was
brought to my house. I instantly recognised
her, and insisted we should take her to her
parents.
“When we arrived at the house… I asked
the mother to come and identify someone.
The moment she saw her, she shouted her
name: ‘Amina, Amina!’ She gave her the
biggest hug ever, as if they were going to
roll on the ground, we had to stabilise
them.
“The mother called the attention of other
relations to come out and see what is
happening. The girl started comforting the
mother, saying: ‘Please Mum, take it easy,
relax. I never thought I would ever see you
again, wipe your tears. God has made it
possible for us to see each other again.’
“Afterwards, we had to make them
understand that the girl would not be left
in their care. She must be handed over to
the authority.”
Hosea Abana Tsambido, the Chibok
community in the capital, Abuja, told the
BBC that Amina had been found after
venturing into the forest to search for
firewood.
“She was saying… all the Chibok girls are
still there in the Sambisa except six of
them that have already died.”
The Nigerian military said she was from
the town of Mbalala, south of Chibok, from
where 25 of the kidnapped girls came.
Amina was later moved to Maiduguri, the
capital of Nigeria’s Borno State.
Before their arrival in Maiduguri, the Borno
State Governor, Kashim Shettima, who was
apparently delighted about the news, told
the visiting United Nations Under-
Secretary on Humanitarian Affairs, Mr.
Stephen O’ Brien, that the freed girl might
give information that could lead to the
rescue of other abducted girls and perhaps
to the hideouts of the insurgents.
The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7
Division Nigerian Army, Brig. Gen. Victor
Ezugwu, who brought the girl to Shettima,
told the media that the governor had
promised to present the freed girl to
President Muhammadu Buhari.
The governor said as a sign of honour, he
would take the girl to Mr. President on
Thursday (today).
The girl was not allowed to have a chat
with the media as she was led to meet
with the governor by military personnel.
Shortly after presenting the girl to the
governor, Ezugwu told journalists that
Shettima would hand her over to President
Muhammadu who would in turn present
her to the nation.
“I want to further confirm to you that, we
have found one of the Chibok girls but we
plead for your understanding on this issue,
we need to give her time to rest as you
can see she is traumatised and nursing a
baby.
“The governor has told us that he did not
want to take credit for this and will hand
over the girl to Mr. President who will in
turn unveil her to the nation,” Ezugwu said.
As of the time of going to the press last
night, the governor and the freed girl had
not emerged to address the media.
The Acting Director, Army Public Relations,
Col. Sani Usman, who had earlier
confirmed Amina’s rescue in a statement
on Wednesday, added that a suspected
Boko Haram suspect, Mohammed Hayatu,
who claimed to be the ‘husband’ of the girl
had been arrested by the troops.
Usman, who had earlier given the name of
the rescued girl as Fatmata Mbalala, said
her name was Amina Ali.
He said that the troops of the 25 Task
Force Brigade rescued the girl and
arrested the terror suspect who claimed to
be her ‘husband’ during what he described
as a booking operation at Baale, near
Damboa, Borno State.
He said that investigation conducted by
the Army showed that the girl was one of
the 219 girls abducted from GSS, Chibok
Usman said that the girl was rescued with
her one-year old child, named Safiya.
He added that the girl, her ‘husband’ and
the child had been taken to Maiduguri for
medical screening.
“Please recall that we informed you that
one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls
has been rescued earlier today and
promised to give further details.
“Further to that, in continuation of
Operation Crackdown, troops of 25
Brigade Damboa in conjunction with the
Civilian JTF deployed in one of the
blocking positions at Baale, near Damboa
rescued one Miss Amina Ali and a
suspected Boko Haram terrorist,
Mohammed Hayatu, who claimed to be her
husband.
“Both were brought to the Headquarters of
25 Task Force Brigade Damboa at about
2.30pm today (Wednesday).
“Preliminary investigation shows that she is
indeed one of the abducted Chibok
schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram
terrorists on April 14, 2014 in Chibok and
her name is Amina Ali as against Falmata
Mbalala that was earlier stated.
Meanwhile, the BringBackOurGirls
movement on Wednesday in Abuja
confirmed that the found girl is one of the
over 276 schoolgirls kidnapped in Chibok.
A statement by the spokesperson for the
#BringBackOurGirls#, Sesugh Akume, gave
her name as Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki from
Mbalala.
Akume said the girl had provided useful
information that her other classmates were
still being held by terrorists in Sambisa
Forest.
Reacting, a civil rights organisation,
ActionAid Nigeria, on Wednesday said the
discovery of Amina was an indication that
the 218 others would also be found.
A statement by its Country Director, Ojobo
Ode Atuluku, said it was great news that the
first Chibok schoolgirl had been found.
Copyright PUNCH.
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