A statement issued by the Nigerian Army spokesman, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, said Serah, who is Number 157 on the list of the abducted schoolgirls, is believed to be the daughter of Pastor Luka. “She is presently receiving medical attention at the medical facility of Abogo Largema Cantonment, Biu, Borno State”.
Advertisement
If Boko Haram tries to move large groups of girls because of her escape, those movements can be captured by satellites and air reconnaissance.
Boko Haram’s shadowy leader, Abubakar Shekau, has previously claimed all the girls had converted to Islam.
Ms Luka, who the military said was receiving medical attention, had been attending a boarding school in the village of Chibok for just over two months when fighters raided and kidnapped the almost 300 girls there during exam week in April 2014.
“Amina’s rescue gives us new hope, and offers a unique opportunity for vital information”, he said in a statement.
“Yes, the criticism is that the outgoing government was telling us the girls would be freed”.
As many as 57 girls were able to escape nearly immediately, but more than 200 have remained missing since then.
Ms Nkeki has revealed that a few of the girls died in captivity but most remain under heavy guard in the forest, according to family doctor Idriss Danladi. They were either from Chibok, Damboa, Askira and Uba (all in Borno state).
“I am an eternal optimist”.
Former hostages have reported seeing some of the Chibok girls in the forest. Operations to find the missing girls have intensified recently with a deep push into Sambisa Forest, a military spokesman told CNN’s Nima Elbagir.
“I want to know if my daughter is alive or not”, said Yaga, who plans to formally Wednesday Rebecca, Sarah’s mother and his wife under customary law, at a church ceremony on Sunday.
But a government official told CNN that Amina had been “completely detached” from the man, who remains in military detention and is being interrogated.
Young women and girls have been forced to marry rebel fighters, becoming sex slaves and even suicide bombers in the group’s campaign for a hardline Islamic state.
Boko Haram abducted the schoolgirls from their dormitory in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok the night of April 14, 2014.
Mr Buhari said he was delighted she was back and could resume her education.
But she added: “God is very good”.
“We celebrate with the families of the rescued girls, and commend the gallantry of the Nigerian Troops and the Civilian Joint Task Force in trying to end the insurgency in the North east of Nigeria”, he said.
“It is an outrage!” said Francisca Vigaud-Walsh, women and girls’ advocate at Refugees International, saying the escapee’s case should not be politicized.
Advertisement
The donation was part-fulfillment of her promise that the proceeds from launch of her book, “Essentials of Beauty Therapy”, would be used to empower parents of the Chibok girls and the murdered Buni Yadi boys.
