Rescued Chibok girl narrates how late Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau forcefully married her off to three terrorists
A few days ago, two Nigerian women abducted as schoolgirls by a jihadi militant group nine years ago were rescued, the west African nation’s military had said.
One had a one-year-old baby, while the second gave birth to her second child days after being freed.
Hauwa Maltha and Esther Marcus, both 26, were among 276 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants in April 2014 from the government girls’ secondary school in the village of Chibok.
Speaking with newsmen on Thursday, May 4, Hauwa Maltha said the late Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau forcefully married her off to three terrorists within nine years after their abduction in 2014.
The Theatre Commander, North-East Joint Operation, Hadin Kai, Major General Ibrahim Ali, said Hauwa and Esther were rescued in Sambisa Forest on April 21, 2023.
Hauwa expressed delight with their rescue, explaining that the military rescued them when they went out to fetch water in the forest. Narrating her experience in captivity, Hauwa said:
“Yes, Shekau married us to them (terrorists). The first husband went away. Unfortunately, he never returned and Shekau said the marriage had collapsed since they chose to be infidels.
“We did not do it intentionally. I married three different men. There, I married another fighter at the village, and he died after a fight between the Shekau soldiers. I have two children with him before the last one.”
While briefing journalists at the Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Ali, said that Hauwa and Esther, both serial numbers 2 and 103 in the list of the missing victims, were rescued by troops of 114 Taskforce Battalion Bitta at Lagara, under the 21 Armoured Brigade Bama during Operations.
He said that Hauwa Maltha and Kibaku by tribe from Jila in Chibok Local Government of Borno State, and her 3-year-old baby were rescued.
He explained that while in captivity, Hauwa got married at Gulukos, a village in Sambisa forest, to one Salman, a cameraman to Abubakar Shekau. He said:
“Salman later died in Lake Chad. Thereafter, Hauwa Maltha got married to one Mallam Muhammad in Gobara and had two children for him who later died due to sickness.
Muhammad, her second husband, was also killed in Ukuba terrorist enclaves in Sambisa forest during clashes between Boko Haram/ISWAP.
Hauwa who was about eight months and two weeks pregnant during the time of her rescue delivered a bouncing baby boy on 28 April 2023 while undergoing thorough medical examination along with her baby Fatima at 7 Div Medical Hospital and Services.”
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