Chibok girls kidnap: Ten years afta, survivors describe dia current situations outside Sambisa forest

Amina looking down to the right of the picture

BBC/SIMPA SAMSON
Amina Ali na di first Chibok girl wey escape di long kidnap for 2016

We bin meet Lisu for secret as she tok say local Nigerian authorities no wan make she follow journalists tok.

She be one of di 276 girl wey dem kidnap from dia school for Chibok exactly 10 years ago – dis na kidnapping wey shock di world and ginger di start of di #BringBackOurGirls campaign world wide wey former US First Lady Michelle Obama follow chook mouth.

E pass 180 of dem wey dem either don free or don escape, including Lisu, wey born two pikin wen she bin dey as hostage for di militant Islamist group Boko Haram, wey bin dey live inside Sambisa forest.

Afta she escape, Lisu – wey no be her real name, enta goment rehabilitation programme bifor dem put am for group accommodation wit di oda escapees.

She tok as she dey shift for chair say, “I regret as I come back”.

No be di kain tin wey authorities go want make e come outside.

Di Borno State goment don deny say dem no dey allow former captives exercise dia freedom of speech.

Side view of a woman's face

BBC /SIMPA SAMPSON
Lisu is “deeply unhappy” about di way dem don dey treat am for di goment accomodation

Lisu feel like say di way dem dey treat am now worse pass wetin she don face bifor.

“Sometimes I dey cry wen I remember. I ask myself: ‘Why I comot Sambisa to come back Nigeria only to dey face dis kain shameful treatment, to dey chop insult almost evriday?’ I neva face dis kain heartache wen I dey inside Sambisa.”

Lisu say she barely survive under state care: basic provisions like food and soap no dey reach am, dem dey monitor her movement and restrict am wit security guards and she dey suffer verbal abuse from di workers of di group home.

She say, “Dem dey shout for our head all di time, I dey deeply unhappy. I bin get more freedom for Boko Haram camp dan I get for here.”

Dis kain tok-tok na wetin Borno State goment say dem no recognise for statement wey dem give BBC. Dem say restriction no dey for how di young women wey dey dia hand dey waka except wen wahala fit dey for dia personal safety. Di authorities say dem dey also provide enough food and nutrition for di former captives and dia pikin dem.

Even though di experiences of di pipo wey run or bin dey free dey different and dem dey different levels of rehabilitation, di tori say di promises wey dem tell dem ova di years, dem break am and na wetin be di trend among di pipo we follow tok.

For 2016, Amina Ali become di first of di Chibok captives wey escape since immediately afta di kidnapping.

She too no like how dem dey treat dem.

Di last time she see di school campus wey now stand in front of her, di school bin dey on fire – dat na di night of 14 April, 2014.

She tok small-small say “Wow, dis school still exist. Afta evritin wey do us, e still dey here”, afta she see di new renovated cream-colour buildings.

“We dey sidon under dat tree,” she tok as she point one tree wey no get leaves but tall for di corner of di compound.

She continue to dey look and tok all di tins wey don change.

A woman looking at a notebook

BBC/SIMPA SAMSON
Amina wan be journalist and help tell di tori of di Chibok girls

Di grass don too high, di tiles for di walkways dey new. Dem move di rusty main gate and dem no get boarding house again. Wen dem rebuild di grounds, dem reopen am as day school for 2021.

Even though di tins wey dem add put di school dey important, outside di gates, tins neva too change like dat for Chibok.

Insecurity still full ground, Boko Haram gunmen still dey attack di area, as na just late last year hia di last one happun.

Di roads wey no dey well dey full of checkpoints and military presence full evriwia for town. Mobile communication dey one kain as telecom mast fall down by di side of di road as one local tori pesin tok say e fit be di handiwork of militants.

Den di emotional scars dey.

Amina stay for two years for Sambisa as hostage.

Like many of di captives, dem force am to “marry” militant and convert to Islam.

Life in di forest get as e dey go like timetable: to cook, clean, learn Quran but Amina no lose hope say she go escape one day.

She say, “I bin just tink say even if I spend 10 years [as hostage], one day I go escape.”

And one day, she really run am.

E bin take am weeks of trekking inside thick bush under hot weather and small food as she carry her two month old pikin for back, but las-las she do am.

But ova 90 girls still dey miss.

Her friend Helen Nglada na one of dem.

Amina and Hellen bin dey relate as classmates for school. Both of dem dey sing for di church band wia Heleln be dia leader.

But na afta di kidnap dem kon close for Sambisa forest as dem spend long time togeda. Di last tok wey Amina follow Helen tok na about Chibok and how dem wish say dem go fit go back.

Woman looking down

BBC/SIMPA SAMSON
For Helen mama, Saratu, to see Amina make her remember many painful tins

Di pain say Helen still dey miss dey di face of her parents, Saratu and Ibrahim wey sidon outside dia house wey no too far from di school.

Her mama hold di picture wey get Helen and her sister tight. For di picture, di sisters dey wear di same cloth and head tie wit serious face.

Amina say, “I just wish I bin get my friend back, so we fit share dis happiness wit her”.

Saratu dey find am hard to fight her emotions.

She tell Amina say, “Anytime you come back house and I see you, my mind dey go my daughter.”

She start to dey cry and Amina put hand for her shoulder to calm am.

Ibrahim tok say, “I just want our govnor to do somtin to save our pikin. Make e add more effort to rescue di oda pikin dem.”

Amina escape for 2016 bin come wit ogbonge jolly and relief.

Afta di military debrief am, she meet goment officials wey include den President Muhammadu Buhari wey tok say her life go change for beta.

Amina remember say, “[Di president say] e go take care of us and send us and our pikin go school.”

She add say, “Becos no be our fault say we dey dat situation and di pikin too, dem no know anytin. Dem dey innocent. So e go take care of dem.”

Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari (C) flanked by Borno State governor Kashim Shettima (L) and Chief of Staff for the Kaduna State Governor Hadiza Bala Usman (R) carries Amina Ali's four-month-old baby on her arrival at the presidency in Abuja, on May 19, 2016

AFP
Wen she escape Boko Haram for 2016, Amina (L) and her pikin meet den President Muhammadu Buhari

Life today no resemble as dem bin promise am.

Amina dey live for Yola now and she dey share room wit her daughter. Yola dey five hours away from Chibok by road. She and her pikin dey share toilet and bathroom wit dia neighbour and she dey cook for firewood outside.

Money no easy.

She dey get 20,000 naira ($15; £12) evri month to pay for evriday spend-spend but notin dey come for her daughter school even though goment bin promise. Na she dey pay dat bill wit di small moni she dey make from farming.

She say, “E dey hard for me to look afta my daughter. Wetin I wan do? I gatz do am becos I no get pesin.”

Young girl having her hair braided

BBC/SIMPA SAMSON
Amina dey struggle wit di moni she get to take train her pikin wey she born for Boko Haram camp

Amina dey train her daughter and also dey study for di American University of Nigeria (AUN) wey be private and high class school.

AUN na di only option wey dem give Amina and oda Chibok girls make dem continue dia studies, but many dey struggle to continue and some don drop out sef.

She say “We no pick AUN becos we sabi say di school standards go dey hard for us, we girls come from poor backgrounds. Di former minister force us make we come dis school.”

Di girls tok say dem for like get more freedom to pick wia dem fit go school and dem dey reason weda some of di moni wey goment take pay AUN expensive fees suppose come to dem directly.

Amina don dey AUN since 2017 and neva near graduation. Na only one of di former captive don graduate.

Nigeria Women Affairs Minister, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye say di goment dey pay AUN about $350,000 per year for di Chibok girls and dia education for di past six years and dem go soon review am.

She say, “I no dey pay anybodi dat kain moni. Even if dem put am for budget, I no go release di moni. Di girls suppose be di koko. School dey important but you no go go school wit empty belle.”

Rakiya Gali na anoda Chibok girl – she escape from Boko Haram for 2017. She bin study for AUN briefly but she drop out becos she sick.

Rakiya say she no dey get financial support and dey make moni from farming to take pay for her son school like Amina, even though goment promise am.

She emotionally tok say, “Di goment no do us well. Dem know say we enta [Sambisa forest] and come back wit pikin dem. If dem no fit help us, who go help us?”

Togeda wit di moni wahala, Rakiya dey fear becos her town still dey face Boko Haram attacks, she say militants recently burn her pikin school.

“Weneva I hear any sound, e be me like na gunshot,” she tok.

Chibok school sign

BBC/SIMPA SAMSON
Di school still dey – but now na day school

Rakiya wan move forward wit her life and get di best education for her son, but lack of support dey make am be like say e dey impossible.

Sotay, she believe say if di Chibok girls wey still dey Boko Haram hand see how she and di odas wey escape dey live outside di camp, dem go prefer to stay wit Boko Haram.

She say, “Wen [di girls] come back, [dem] go come join us for dis situation. I go say e beta to stay [Sambisa forest] wit di pikin and di papa go provide support dan to go through all dis wahala.”

Di conditions she tok say she dey face different wella from di life of one of dia former captors.

Muhammad Alli, a former Boko Haram fighter wey bin dey involved for di Chibok kidnapping, now dey live for Maiduguri wit im family – including eight children.

E bin dey part of di militant group for 13 years and reach di rank of commander, even use by force “marry” one of di Chibok girls.

E say, “Dat time, I marry dem, I no feel bad. But wen I decide say I go surrender, na dat time I kon dey see how bad e fit be for dem to dey forced to do dose kain tins.”

Like thousands of oda fighters, dem give Muhammad amnesty, and im finish di state goment rehabilitation program. E get farm but e dey also work wit military to help rescue kidnapped girls.

Man looking at the camera

BBC/SIMPA SAMSON
Muhammad Alli now dey help authorities handle oda kidnap situations

Last year, e bin dey part of di group wey rescue some of di same pipo wey e bin help to kidnap.

E say, “Wen we find dem, dem bin look bad. I cry as I see dem.”

Di amnesty programme don cause kasala as some pipo say former militants like Muhammad suppose serve jail time and pay for dia plenti crimes.

But Muhammad ansa say, “All I fit tok for dat one na to ask for forgiveness. I dey sorry. I dey find how I go take quench di fire wey we start and I dey follow di men wey I surrender wit do am. We dey do our best to weaken wetin dis insurgency dey do.”

But di insurgency still dey continue and kidnapping for ransom don spread more for Nigeria.

As we dey report dis tori, three separate kidnappings don happun for north-eastern Nigeria, one of dem na for school and na di biggest wey don happun since 2021.

Muhammad say na di “success” of di Chibok kidnap ginger dis kain attacks.

E say, “We know say dat tin shake di whole kontri and Africa sef. Di koko for Boko Haram for [group oga] Abubakar Shekau na to make sure say wetin we do draw attention.

“E also make moni from some of dis actions, wey pay for transport and food, and dat na why di kidnap continue.”

Serious questions still dey about Nigeria military and how dem fit handle di insurgency wey don dey for ova 10 years and kill hundreds of thousands of pipo most especially as insecurity don dey spread go oda parts of di kontri.

Nigeria defence chief, Gen Christopher Gwabin Musa don tok say true-true di challenge wey face di military dey “enormous”.

E call di state of insecurity for di kontri a “rude shock”, but e dey confident say tins dey change.

For di 91 Chibok girls wey still dey captive, Gen Musa say military neva lose hope say dem go rescue dem.

Even wit how she feel about her current situation, Amina get hope too.

She get hope say she go become journalist one day to be di voice for victims of kidnap, to be leader. She dey also hope say her daughter go finish school and get bright, safe future.

Las-las, she dey hope say, her classmates go one day dey free.

She say, “di only tin I need na make goment release some of my sisters wey still dey captivity. I get hope. Becos dem still dey alive [hope dey] dem go come back one day.”

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