One of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists on April 14, 2014, has shared how she escaped from captivity after eight years.
The insurgents had stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State where they whisked away over 250 girls who were writing their final exams at the time.
Having fled the terrorists’ enclave in Borno State, she was eventually discovered by troops of the Nigerian Army on June 29.
Two days after, she addressed journalists where she narrated her ordeal at the hands of the terrorists.
The victim, who gave her name as Ruth Bitrus, said she had to trek for three days in the Sambisa Forest before help came to her by troops of the 21 Armoured Brigade Bama.
“My name is Ruth Bitrus, I escaped from the Sambisa Forest. I am one of the students kidnapped from GGSS Chibok in April 2014. We were 203 that were kidnapped. The rest of us are still in Sambisa with our captors,” she spoke in the Hausa language.
According to Ruth, her husband was killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) while he was trying to plant a bomb.
“The father of my child died two years ago in Rabul Sani village where he went to plant a bomb at the military formation and it exploded with him before he could plant it.”
The distraught mother explained that she took some food with her which she used in feeding the child within the three-day period.
Bitrus’ rescue comes two weeks after troops rescued two other Chibok schoolgirls – Mary Dauda and Hauwa Joseph – after they escaped from Gazuwa camp, located about nine kilometers to Bama LGA of Borno State.
Their escape followed sustained massive offensives by the troops of Operation Hadin Kai, leading to hunger and displacement in the terrorists’ enclaves.
Of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted by the terrorists in 2014, more than 100 of them are still unaccounted for eight years after their kidnap.