A decade on, tragedy of Nigeria’s Chibok Girls endures outside the spotlight
Chibok, Nigeria Reuters Ten years ago, Solomon Maina’s daughter, Debora, was one of 276 schoolgirls kidnapped from their dormitory in the middle of the night by Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist militants. Global outrage was swift. A ubiquitous “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign, drawing support from the likes of Michelle Obama and Sylvester Stallone, shined a […]
Chibok schoolgirl freed in Nigeria seven years after abduction, governor says
Maiduguri, NigeriaReuters One abducted girl from the Nigerian town of Chibok has been freed and reunited with her parents seven years after Boko Haram militants kidnapped her and more than 200 of her classmates, Borno state’s governor said on Saturday. The raid on the school in the north-eastern town one night in April 2014 sparked […]
Quick facts – 10 facts about Nigeria’s Chibok schoolgirls
Thomson Reuters Foundation When 276 schoolgirls were abducted from a school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria five years ago by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, the world was outraged and their kidnapping dominated international headlines. Almost 60 girls managed to escape in the melee following their abduction while others have been released in the […]
Nightmares, guilt and awards: five years after the Chibok kidnappings
Abuja, NigeriaThomson Reuters Foundation Five years after being kidnapped by Boko Haram, freed Chibok girls have nightmares about their 100 missing classmates and are burdened by guilt for surviving, while shielding parents of dead friends from the truth about their daughters’ fate. The mass abduction of 276 schoolgirls on 14th April, 2014, from their school […]
Hidden in diaries, untold stories of Boko Haram survivors feature in film
Thomson Reuters Foundation Untold stories of young Nigerian women kidnapped by Boko Haram highlight a documentary debuting on Monday that reveals diaries kept by survivors forbidden from talking about their captivity. The diaries, secretly given to the US-based documentary producers by former captives, detail life under the jihadist group that, according to the United Nations, […]
Leah Sharibu kept as slave, aid worker killed as ‘apostate,’ in Nigeria, report says
Morning Star News Islamic extremist group Boko Haram has killed an aid worker as an “apostate” from Islam and vowed to keep kidnapped high school girl Leah Sharibu as a “slave for life,” Nigerian news outlet The Cable reported. Leah, kidnapped along with more than 100 schoolgirls from Dapchi, Yobe state in February but not […]
Tears flow as escaped Chibok captive brings news – good and bad
Thomson Reuters Foundation It was hearing about her sore eyes that convinced Lawal Zannah his daughter Aisha was still alive, the first sliver of good news to emerge after months of nervy silence enveloped Nigeria’s kidnapped Chibok girls. Word of 21-year-old Aisha’s persistent eye problem came via a newly released captive, Jumai, who had shared […]
Chibok parents celebrate release of Nigerian schoolgirls as hope for own daughters
Thomson Reuters Foundation Yana Galang was visiting Dapchi in northeast Nigeria to offer condolences to parents whose daughters were kidnapped by Boko Haram when people started to shout with excitement. Her own daughter, Rifkatu, is still missing nearly four years after she and over 200 of her classmates were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants from […]
‘Be patient’ Chibok parents tell families of Nigeria’s latest kidnap victims
Thomson Reuters Foundation Yakubu Nkeki knows just what to say when he meets the parents of 110 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram militants in the northeastern town of Dapchi last month. His daughter was among some 220 Chibok girls abducted by the insurgents in 2014, which shot Nigeria’s nine-year-old conflict with Boko Haram […]
Boko Haram survivors say fresh clothes help with fresh start
Thomson Reuters Foundation Sometimes, a change of clothes can make all the difference. For young women who have survived kidnappings and rapes by Boko Haram in Nigeria, fresh clothing is critical to helping shed their status as victims and resume normal lives, survivors said on Tuesday. Hauwa and Ya Kaka – identified for their protection […]