Army rescues another Chibok girl married to Boko Haram bomb expert

The Nigerian Army says its troops have rescued another kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, Saratu Dauda. 

276 girls were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok town, Borno. 

Many of the girls have since been rescued while some remain in captivity. 

The Theatre Commander, North-East Joint Operation Hadin Kai, Maj. Gen Ibrahim Ali, made the resue known while briefing newsmen at the Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri on Monday, May 15, 2023.

Ali said 25-year-old Saratu was rescued on May 6 by troops of the 21 Armoured Brigade during a clearance operation at Ukuba in Sambisa Forest in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State. 

While handing her over to Zuwaira Gambo, the Borno commissioner for women affairs and social development, on Monday May 15, in Maiduguri, Ali said Dauda was married off to one Abu Yusuf, a Boko Haram improvised explosive devices (IED) expert.

Ali added that the kidnapped victim had three children with her terrorist husband but left them behind while escaping from the forest.

The military commander said efforts were ongoing to rescue Dauda’s children from her husband, adding that she has been taken to the Maimalari military hospital for intensive care.

“She was married to one Abou Yusuf, who she later divorced before getting married to one Ba’ana Muhammed, also known as Abou Zinira, the Boko Haram terrorist IED expert,” Ali explained.

“She had three daughters, aged 7, 5, and 2 years old, with Ba’ana, but left them in the terrorists’ hideouts during her escape. So far, efforts to rescue her children and other victims are still ongoing,” he said.

He also recalled the recent presentation of two other Chibok girls rescued by the troops.

“Consequently, on May 4 this year, Hauwa Maltha and Esther Marcus, both serial numbers two and 103 on the list of the missing victims, and three of their children were handed over to the officials of the Borno State Government,” he said.

According to him, their rescue, among other several women and children, were largely driven by the kinetic and non-kinetic activities of Operation Hadin Kai, especially in the ongoing Operation Desert and Lake Sanity II.

“As of today, the statistics of the 276 abducted Chibok girls indicate that 57 girls escaped in 2014; 107 released in 2018; three were rescued in 2019, two were recovered in 2021; 11 girls were rescued in 2022; and three have been rescued so far in 2023. This brings the total to 182 out of captivity, leaving 93 unaccounted for.

“At this juncture, let me state that the joint efforts of Operation Hadin Kai under the strategic guidance of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, and the Chief Air Staff, have continued to yield more operational successes in the North Eastern Region of Nigeria,” he said.

He also lauded the support of the Borno government and assured the people of the Northeast of the commitment of the military to contain the insurgency in the region.