- Girls admit falling in love in Sambisa – Negotiators
- ‘It was tough convincing them to come home’ They’ve been brainwashed – NGOs
- They’ve been brainwashed – NGOs
Some of the recently released 82 Chibok Secondary School girls from Borno State, who were swapped with five top Boko Haram Commanders under the Federal Government’s detention, have made startling revelations on their over three years’ stay in captivity.
The Point exclusively spoke to three persons who were involved in negotiating the release of the girls and transporting them from Banki, a border town between Maiduguri and Cameroun where they were held captive, to Abuja, into the warm embrace of President Muhammadu Buhari and other top government officials.
The sources, who opted to remain anonymous, revealed that the girls, while in transit, relived their days in the custody of their Boko Haram captors and concluded that their lives were better lived in Sambisa Forest than the periods they spent at home.
They said, contrary to the widespread belief that the girls were faced with life-threatening challenges such as hunger, and torture, some of the girls who returned from their abductors had different stories to tell.
The girls, they recalled, were, however, silent on snippets that they had been sexually abused but admitted that they got love passes from their abductors and other members of the sect, to which some of them consented.
They quoted some of the girls as saying, “Life in Sambisa Forest was comfortable and adventurous.”
This revelation might have been corroborated by media reports that one of the girls who was supposed to be among the swapped captives, refused to leave her acclaimed husband, insisting that she was comfortable with her life and the relationship with ‘her husband.’
Recalling how they (negotiators) managed to persuade the girls to return after the Boko Haram leaders gave them access to the girls, one of them said, “It was a most herculean task persuading the girls to come with us, though we had been given the figure of girls to be released. It would interest you to know that it took us some time to convince these girls, as most of them seemed to be more comfortable with the situation they found themselves.
“They said they had been getting enough food to eat, they don’t go to farm or go out to fend for themselves as everything is at their disposal.”
Yet another negotiator, who interviewed some of the girls said, “The only problem they complained about was their inability to further their education or practise their religion (Christianity), as most of them were forcefully Islamised and indoctrinated by the sect members.”
Another problem the girls complained about, according to the source, was the restriction of their movement and freedom, as they were kept under 24 hours watch.
PARENTS STILL TO MEET RESCUED GIRLS
Unfortunately, most parents of the freed girls, as of press time, were still in Chibok and had not been officially directed to see their daughters and be reunited with them in Abuja.
One of the parents whose daughter, simply identified as Ruth, was among the released children, and who would not want to be named, told our correspondent that they (the parents) were happy upon hearing the cheery news of their daughters’ release.
“We were very happy to hear that some of our abducted daughters had been freed from the hands of their captors. My daughter was among those released, but up till now, I am still in my village in Chibok, as no official communication has been passed to me on where or when I will see my daughter and reunite with her again,” the mother said, beaming with smiles.
Speaking earlier on the high-wire intelligence technique that resulted in the release and swapping of the Chibok girls with Boko Haram commanders, a senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, who was one of the facilitators and negotiators, said it took a combined effort of himself, an unnamed negotiator, the Swiss Government and the Committee of the Red Cross to lead a delegation for the release of the girls.
“The negotiations were led by a recent winner of an international humanitarian award, aided by the Swiss (Government) in the mediation process; monitored by the ICRC and made possible by the Department of State Services. It involved some levels of travels to Bern in Switzerland and Sudan,” he said.
WE ONLY PLAYED INTERMEDIARY ROLE – RED CROSS
But reacting to the extent of its involvement in the negotiation, the Red Cross in Africa said it only acted as an intermediary between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government, noting that the Red Cross also used its vehicles to transport the freed girls to the Nigerian officials at Banki in Borno State. Patrick Youssef, the leader of the humanitarian group, tweeted the agency’s position, saying, “With the agreement of all the parties involved, we, ICRC acted as a neutral intermediary to facilitate their transport back home.”
In the same vein, the Chairman, FCT Branch of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Mr. Taiye Olaniyi, said his organisation would not recommend force in any way, towards securing the release of the remaining Chibok girls, as he applauded the recent measure of swapping some detained Boko Haram officers with the girls.
He said, “As an international humanitarian organisation, the Red Cross has never, and will not call for the use of force because of the cost of violence. Not even in the quest for rescue of prisoners of war. International humanitarian law provides for governments of different countries who are involved in conflict to ensure that the humanity of persons involved is protected as global citizens.
“The use of force may not be the best option. Since dialogue brought about the release of 82 girls, I think it is still the way forward. Let them continue to use dialogue to pacify whoever claims to be involved.”
It was a herculean task persuading the girls to come with us, though we had been given the figure of girls to be released. It would interest you to know that it took us some time to convince these girls, as most of them seemed to be more comfortable with the situation they found themselves
HOW TO RE-INTEGRATE THE GIRLS – EXPERTS
Olaniyi, the Red Cross boss, however, advised on how to re-integrate the returnee girls to the society, having been made to undergo series of psychological and mental drift.
“The only way government can claim to be genuinely concerned about the released girls as well as the Internally Displaced Persons is to take adequate care of them. The agencies of government, which have statutory roles of care must do their work.
There should be an end to lip service when it comes to care of IDPs and the returnees. The ceremonies shouldn’t just be about their return, but it must ensure sustainability of care for the returnees and the IDPs,” he said.
Complementing him, Mrs. Ngozi Okoro, Lagos State Manager, Child Protection Network, a non-governmental organisation, said, “it is apparent that the girls were brainwashed to accept that they were comfortable while in captivity. They would have threatened them and their families to say pleasant things about Boko Haram.”
‘HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS NOT INVOLVED’
But in another opinion, the Convener of Nigerian Conference of Human Rights Groups, Comrade Ifeanyi Odili, said no human rights society in the country was involved in negotiating for the release of the Chibok girls because “we don’t believe in negotiating with ghosts.”
