This week, at least one of the more than 100 youths missing after her abduction by Islamist militant group Boko Haram in the Nigerian city of Chibok managed to escape her captors this week, according to family members and local officials.
Halima Ali Maiyanga told his family on Thursday in a phone call that he was one of hundreds of captives who were able to flee amid a Nigerian military offensive against Boko Haram fighters in the forest of Sambisa in the northeast of the country.
The Chibok Association, formed after the abduction of 276 girls from its high school in the city of Chibok in 2014, said several others had also won their freedom during the army push. More than 100 of them were released in 2016 and 2017 after a ransom payment and the release of some Boko Haram fighters by the government.
“Halima was crying. He told us that he was with the military and that he needed clothes because he had nothing, ”said his brother Muhammad Maiyanga. “We never thought we’d see her again.”
Ms. Maiyanga, now 22, was 15 when she was abducted the night before the end-of-year exams. His older sister Maryam Ali Maiyanga managed to escape in 2017 along with an infant son born after his forced marriage to a jihadist fighter.
“People have come to cheer us on,” the sister said. “I can’t wait to meet my sister again.”
A man in Lagos passed by portraits of some Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram.
Photo:
pius utomi ekpei / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images
Neither the government nor the Nigerian military responded to the calls for comment. A Nigerian security official said the army had determined that some fugitives were coming from Chibok. Another said they had only confirmed that more than 100 women had been released.
Defense officials said the new offensive showed that the military was regaining the initiative after a year of fighting to contain the jihadists, who have become increasingly broad and bold.
According to the U.S. Foreign Relations Council, the period since July 2018 has been more deadly for Nigeria’s security service personnel than at any other time in the decadent conflict.
High schools remain targets of Boko Haram. In December, 344 students were abducted from a boarding school for boys in Katsina state, but were released after paying a ransom, according to Nigerian security officials.
The Boko Haram kidnapping of the Chibok girls sparked the global #BringBackOurGirls campaign that briefly transformed them into the most famous hostages in the world. The hashtag sparked a U.S.-led international rescue effort, which deployed drones and satellites over the Sambisa forest to hunt captives.
Following the news of Ms. Maiyanga’s escape, other Chibok families waited expectantly, hoping to receive news of daughters some of whom had resigned themselves to never seeing each other again. But the community has seen its hopes dashed before the girls ’claims about release turned out to be false.
Rebecca Samuel, whose daughter Sarah was among the hostages, said she had a vivid dream on Thursday night that her daughter would be back alive and well.
“I told my husband this morning about my dream,” she said. “I have not stopped praying for the return of my daughter since she was abducted in 2014.”
After being kidnapped by Boko Haram, 21 Chibok schoolgirls reunited with their parents in October 2016 at an emotional rally in Abuja, Nigeria. Photo: AP (originally published on October 16, 2016)
—Kabiru Anwar contributed to this article.
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