Inside Boko Haram camp, by escapees By Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja and Tony Akowe, Kaduna. On Mar 25th, 2014 at 01:20 Filed under: News •We killed 18 insurgents, says DHQ Two women who escaped from the captivity of Boko Haram insurgents have relived their horrendous experience. Liatu and Janet told the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) monitored in Kaduna how they escaped from the insurgents after spending several days with them. Liatu, 23, who claimed to have spent 12 days with her abductors inside the Sambisa forest, said she was captured by the insurgents on her way to her village. The insurgents, according to her, barricaded the road near the Bama Bridge, killing some people and abducting others. One of the men who was also abducted, she said, suggested that they should escape. “One man suggested that we run away because one can only die once. We took a golf car and ran away, the Boko Haram people chased us on a motorbike, shooting at us and killed those who sat at the back. When we were approaching Bama, they retreated and went back,” Liatu said. Liatu, a Christian, claimed that the Boko Haram members had earlier asked her to accept Islam as a religion. She watched while they slaughtered about 50 people. Also sharing her experience with the BBC, Janet claimed that she spent about three months with the insurgents who tried to conscript her after severally violating her. They took her to Gwoza town in the state where they killed people. Liatu claimed that the insurgents gave her a knife and instructed her to slaughter one of the five people, a task she said she could not perform, adding that the wife of the Boko Haram leader later carried out the task on her behalf. Janet said she has continued to live with the nightmare, and the gory details of what transpired when the victims were killed, adding that most of the Boko Haram members were known faces to her because they were neighbours. She claimed that she escaped from her captors after feigning illness and was allowed to seek medical attention. “I feigned illness for two weeks; they said I had AIDS and should be taken to their hospital for test. I told them it was stomach pain. That was how I escaped. “The Boko Haram men hide in caves and mountains. They sight jets and other aircraft. I felt happy whenever I saw soldiers, but they could not locate the Boko Haram who were mostly, along the Liman Kara and Gwoza axis. “They took many of us into the bush. If they searched and found ID card, they will say they had warned that people should not work for the government, and they will kill the person. For those Konduga girls, they will select those who perm their hair and kill them.” Also yesterday, the Defence Headquarters said government troops at the weekend, killed 18 suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Bama and Ngurosoye in Borno State. A statement by the Director Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, said the insurgents were dislodged while attempting to attack some settlements. According to the DHQ, 16 AK 47 rifles, five pick up vans and seven Gulf cars belonging to the insurgents were destroyed. The statement however said the attack at Bama market in which about 20 persons were reported killed had not been verified, adding that 75 villagers were screened and released in the course of cordon and search in the adjoining communities. The statement added: “In a related development, a total of 16 AK47 rifles were recovered in the course of cordon and search of communities, while mop up operations are ongoing on Mandara mountains and Haraza hills. “Troops eventually overran camps in the outskirts of Gombole, Mele, Kecheri, Dufrfada, Yuwe, and others around Mandara mountains and Sambisa forests after stiff resistance. Many terrorists died in the encounter. A soldier lost his life and five others were wounded. “The Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) has also stepped up patrols of the banks of Lake Chad as well as surrounding communities in addition to air surveillance and patrols designed to smoke out the remnants of the terrorists. “The air raids on some camps sited on Islands have also recorded successes in dislodging the terrorists located there. “Cordon and search for the terrorists have been focused on thorough screening of the villagers in surrounding communities. Many terrorists have been identified and subsequently apprehended by troops in the process. “Meanwhile, troops morale and fighting spirit have remained noticeably high while some of the terrorists camps falling to the forces in the ongoing counter terrorists campaign have been found deserted. “Food items earlier seized by the terrorists from the villagers are often found stockpiled along with other items such as electronics and power generators. The camps were swiftly razed by the troops”.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 18:34:06 +0000
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