A rescued victim of the February 3 terrorist attack on Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, Amirah Salihu, has recounted the harsh conditions she and other captives endured during nearly six months in captivity.
Salihu, a nurse and daughter of the Chief of Woro community, Umar Salihu, said she helped deliver 10 pregnant women while in captivity, using her bare hands because she had no access to medical equipment or protective gloves.
She made the disclosure during an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, following her release alongside other victims who were abducted during the attack.
According to Salihu, the captives endured severe hunger, poor living conditions and exposure to harsh weather throughout their period in captivity.
She said the abductors initially provided the captives with guinea corn, salt and seasoning, but the quality and quantity of food deteriorated as time passed.
“The kind of food that they were giving us was bad. The day that we got there, they just dropped guinea corn for us with salt and Maggi.
Every day after, they gave us one bag of corn without oil, pepper, nothing. There was a day that they didn’t even give us Maggi again, just salt,” she said.
Salihu said the captives were sometimes given kuka, a local food preparation, but that the abductors eventually stopped providing it.
She also described the conditions under which the captives slept, saying they were sometimes kept near a river and exposed to rainfall.
“The place that we sleep is inside river. And rain always used to fall, sometimes. If we set fire, they asked us to put off the fire,” she recounted.
According to her, the captives also had to endure the ordeal alongside their children, with food sometimes unavailable for extended periods.
She said her nursing skills became particularly important when some of the women among the captives went into labour.
Salihu explained that the abductors asked whether there was a nurse among the captives after discovering that pregnant women needed assistance.
She initially concealed her profession but eventually began helping the women during childbirth.
“They asked of nurse, ‘Is there any nurse with us?’ I said no, because I was… I am also a nurse. I just used to help pregnant women do delivery. I helped like 10 women for the delivery, without gloves. I used my hands to help them,” she said.
Salihu said the terrorists later discovered that she was a trained nurse and wanted her to remain with them, but she refused.
“But at last, when they got to know, they wanted to keep me, that I should stay with them, but I said no. I want to come back,” she said.
The rescued nurse also recounted the circumstances surrounding the attack on Woro, saying the terrorists claimed they were acting in accordance with their interpretation of religious teachings.
She said the attackers opposed Nigeria’s constitutional democracy and wanted communities to adopt their interpretation of Islamic law.
“They always say that they are working for Allah’s work. That they want us to work with what Allah said. That all what we are doing, we are doing constitution, democracy — that it is not good. That they want us to work with Quran. That’s the reason why they entered our village, killed everybody,” she said.
Salihu further revealed that two of her brothers were killed during the attack.
“They even killed my brothers — my senior brother and my junior brother. And those… they said it’s because of my dad, because my dad did not allow them to come to our village,” she said.
According to her, her father had resisted attempts by the terrorists to gain access to the community and had brought soldiers to protect residents.
She said the attackers eventually returned after the soldiers had left the area.
“They just came to our house that day, suddenly, and people came to our house. The way I saw them, I knew that yes, they are Boko Haram, because the way they dressed, I knew that they are Boko Haram,” she recounted.
Salihu also said she did not experience or witness any case of rape or sexual assault during her captivity.
“No, no case of rape or sexual assault, no,” she said.
The victims were among 176 women and children abducted during the February 3 terrorist attack on Woro and neighbouring Nuku communities.
The abductees regained their freedom on Wednesday after spending nearly six months in captivity.
The Kwara State Government said 13 children died while in captivity, while 12 other victims were reportedly left behind.
Other rescued victims have also recounted severe hunger and deprivation during their captivity, with some reportedly surviving on a single meal a day and sleeping in forested areas.
Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq received the rescued victims in Ilorin on Friday and commiserated with families who lost loved ones during the ordeal.
The governor expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the military authorities for their roles in securing the victims’ release.
AbdulRazaq later visited a general hospital where 14 rescued victims, including three women who gave birth while in captivity, were receiving medical treatment.
The victims are expected to continue receiving medical and psychosocial support as authorities work to reintegrate them into their families and communities after months of captivity.