Doubts over escape of 30 Boko Haram abductees

By Lawrence Olaoye with agency report

There are doubts over the latest information about the escape of another 30 women and children from the their Boko Haram abductors few days after 63 others were reported to have escaped from Sambisa forest hideout if the sect.

A senior military officer gave a correspondent of SaharaReporters exclusive information about the latest escape.

The officer revealed that the escapees were mostly from Borno state and were abducted in a series of attacks by the Islamist sect. He stated that he was not in a position to comment on whether the escapees included some of the schoolgirls abducted by the Islamist terrorist group in a daring operation on April 14 that shocked the world and created global protests for the girls’ return or rescue.

The officer said the latest batch of women and children who escaped from their abductors appeared in Madagali local government area of Adamawa state after wandering through forests for days. The location where the escapees showed up is a border area between Adamawa and Borno states.

Our military source described the escaped women and children as distressed, disoriented and famished, adding, however, that they were relieved to have regained freedom.

The chairman of the Madagali local government area, James Watarda also confirmed reports about the escapees.

The source revealed that the women and children had been rushed to an undisclosed hospital where doctors and other medical staff are assessing their physical and mental conditions. He added that the victims had made statements about their harrowing experiences at the hands of their Islamist abductors in the forest. “They have talked about how some of them who were trying to escape were killed and some forced back when armed Boko Haram militants discovered them escaping.”

The officer added that some of the escapees had to leave their little children behind when they fled.

The military source stated that the recent escape of kidnapped victims indicated that Boko Haram was losing ground and control in the face of improved intelligence gathering and armed attacks by the Nigerian Army.

But, when contacted for confirmation, the Director for Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, in a text said ‘No, I cannot confirm. Please, talk to Borno government.”