19 rescued victims of insurgency undergoing treatment

NINETEEN children and women who were among the 275 people rescued by the military from Boko Haram insurgents are now receiving treatment for various medical conditions at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Yola.

Dr. Mohammed Aminu Sulieman, an official of Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) told The Guardian yesterday that the 19 people were taken to FMC Yola because of their medical conditions before arriving at the camp on Saturday night.

Aminu said that the 19 children and women are responding to treatment and that ADSEMA is working together with other agencies to ensure that the rescued victims are properly rehabilitated before they return to their various places.

The military authority arrived Yola on Saturday night with the 275 children and women captured by Boko Haram insurgents and taken to Sambisa forest last year.

The Brigade Commander of 23 Amoured Brigade Yola, Brigadier- General Aba Popoola, who handover the rescued victims to National Emergency Management Authourity (NEMA) officials said that only the body has the capacity to manage the victims.

He said that the military will continue to discharge its constitutional responsibility of protecting the country against attacks.

Some of the victims who spoke to The Guardian said that they were rescued in Sambisa forest after the military overpowered the Boko
Haram fighters who abducted them.

Mrs. Cecilia Abel, a 25 years old mother of nine children told The Guardian that she was captured at Baza in Michika local council of Adamawa State and taken to Gwoza where she spent over one month before being transferred to Sambisa forest.

“My husband and my first son were all killed in my presence by the members of Boko Haram. They took me and my remaining eight children away to Sambisa forest,” she said.

She added that before the military came to rescue them in the forest she had not eaten anything for two weeks until her arrival in Yola on Saturday night.

“We were feed with grinded dry maize only in the afternoon and it is not good for human consumption. Many of us that were captured died in the Sambisa forest because of sickness and gunshot wounds. Even after our rescue about 10 people died on our way to this place,” she said.

Another victim, Mrs. Asabe Umaru, 24 years mother of two who is the women leader of room 3-38 in the camp told Reuters that she was captured in Damboa and taken to Gwoza and later to Sambisa forest after spending over one month in different villages with her captors.

“We must thank our God for those of us that survived because every day we witness the death of one of us. To us it was like waiting for your turn. Sickness as a result of poor feeding was mainly responsible for the death of many that were captured by Boko Haram,” she stated.

She narrated that when the Boko Haram fighters saw the military they ran away.

“When we saw the soldiers we raised our hands and started shouting for help and the Boko Haram who were guarding us in the forest started stoning us, telling us to follow them to run to another hideout.

But we refused because we saw the soldiers and we were sure that they would rescue us,” she said.

There was heavy security at the camp housing the victims, which is close to the 23rd Amoured Brigade.