No one can really understand what our girls are going through in the hands of Boko Haram men inside that thick Sambisa Forest. More chilling revelations have emerged on the agonising experience of the missing Chibok girls, based on the account of one of the escapees.
Some of the girls have managed to escape from the terrorist group, Boko Haram, who abducted over 200 girls from a government secondary school in Chibok, Borno State on the night of April 14, 2014.
A clergy and expert on counter-terrorism, Oladimeji Thompson, of Omoluabi Network, who has been working with other groups to assist victims of the abduction overcome their pains, gave a chilling narration based on an account of one of the escapees.
He said: “One of the girls I interviewed was being rapéd 15 times by 15 men every day.” He said the girl was traumatised and confused.
“It’s obvious this girl needs to be managed. She looked confused. She found it hard to talk to me but after much prodding, she confessed to me that she was rapéd 15 times by 15 men throughout the time she was with the Islamic insurgents before she could escape from their den.
“A girl who has been rapéd by 15 men every day, you say you negotiate and gave her back and release a terrorist who will go out and kill more. What negotiators do is to say that they must not tell their stories, they blanket all the information. In a situation like this, it is the Boko Haram that wins more.”Asked if the girl is not pregnant after her ordeal in the hands of the insurgents, the pastor, probably in an attempt to protect the schoolgirl, declined further comments asking Punch reporter to move to other issues.
Many of the mothers are however saying that despite all the trumped up figures in the media, only three girls have since managed to escape from Boko Haram’s den.
The Omoluabi Network is working with other groups such as the Unlikely Heroes, a United States based trauma management specialists and the Gabasawa Women Initiative, a coalition of women across Northern Nigeria led by Kucheli Balami, to provide psychological and emotional support for the escaped girls and their grieving parents.
He said government should not negotiate but explore every other option in rescuing the girls from B'Haram.
“The people who are talking about dialogue in the first place don’t understand that this thing is a merciless, unrelenting, non-negotiating monster. Those who have studied it globally and locally know that anybody who says negotiate is likely a mole that really belongs to the Boko Haram, pretending not to be part of them.
“If you look at the United States today, the reason it is a prosperous nation is because it refused to negotiate with the colonial powers that threatened it. Nigeria negotiated, look at where we are today. America stood by principle, look at where it is today. So, we are at a crossroads right now. If you claim to negotiate and make Boko Haram stronger, you have betrayed all the blood of thousands who have been slaughtered by these terrorists. If you negotiate, you are only prolonging the evil day, helping people who will eventually reach your own children," Oladimeji Thompson said.
Last week, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, said they had located the whereabouts of the young girls but that they were taking all necessary precaution in freeing them from captivity.
But for now, they are still living with the pains and wounds brought by the sad incident. #BringBackOurGirls