Amina was found at the fringes of the Sambisa forest in Borno state by security operatives on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 with a four-month old baby along with a member of the Boko Haram who claimed to be her husband.
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After Amina was discovered on Tuesday by soldiers and a civilian vigilante group, the army said it had detained a suspected Boko Haram militant called Mohammed Hayatu, who said he was Amina’s husband.
Later, the Nigerian Army confirmed the rescue. That launched the #bringbackourgirls campaign.
In all, 218 girls remain missing after their abduction from a secondary school in north-east Nigeria in April 2014. Authorities say more than 200 remain captive.
A witness who saw the girl at the governor’s office in Maiduguri said she seemed exhausted and was limping.
Shettima is expected to proceed with her to Abuja on Thursday where he would hand her over to President Muhammad Buhari.
“After Amina was kidnapped, only two (of our children) are left alive”, she said, adding that her other son and daughter both live in Lagos.
The rescued schoolgirl will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari today amid hopes that she can help shed light on the whereabouts of more than 200 other missing girls.
Boko Haram, based mainly in Nigeria’s northern states but also responsible for attacks in neighboring countries, is seeking to implement sharia law.
Image: student who escaped when Boko Haram rebels stormed a school and abducted schoolgirls, identifies her schoolmates from a video released by the Islamist rebel group at the Government House in Maiduguri, Borno State May 15, 2014.
The young woman was found in the Sambisa Forest near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon.
Two years ago, the terror group Boko Haram took responsibility for kidnapping hundreds of schools girls in a Nigerian town. “The moment she saw her, she shouted her name: Amina, Amina!’ She gave her the biggest hug ever, as if they were going to roll on the ground”.
Nigerian hunters found the young woman and baby wandering near the Sambisa Forest and her uncle describes her as traumatized.
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They have waged a six-year campaign to carve out an Islamic caliphate in northeast Nigeria.
