Six kidnapped women have detailed how they escaped from Boko Haram’s Sambisa Forest after they were picked up by the Nigerian troops launching offensives against the terrorists’ enclave.

The women disclosed that the military’s renewed onslaught in Sambisa and fringes of Lake Chad led to their rescue.

The women, on arrival at the headquarters of Joint Task Force North East of ‘Operation Hadin Kai’ in Maiduguri on Wednesday, said the operations gave them the opportunity to escape.

Suzan Lazarus, abducted in April 2021 in Hong local government area of Adamawa when the insurgents invaded Kupre, said about 50 people were abducted that day.

The 28-year-old said her abductors took them to an area known as the Timbuktu Triangle before taking them to the shores of Lake Chad.

“I give glory to God and say thank you to the military for our rescue, but I am still worried about the fate of others,” said Ms Lazarus.

Also speaking, Jummai Inuwa, who was abducted on the Maiduguri-Damaturu road on October 10, 2020, said she was taken to the shores of Lake Chad, where she was subjected to work as a slave.

“Some of us tried to escape, but the place is like an island surrounded by water. It was difficult to escape because it was very muddy. We seized the opportunity to escape when the military bombed the area,” Ms Inuwa explained.

One of the women, Marta Malu, 25, said she was kidnapped on the Damboa-Askira road in December 2021 alongside six government construction workers and a policeman.

“We were eight. They took us to Sambisa, and after one week, they killed the policeman,” said Ms Malu, one of the abducted women.

Other women who escaped from the terrorists are Grace Daniel, 38, kidnapped on the Maiduguri-Damaturu road on December 18, 2020; Maria Adamu, 27, kidnapped in the Madagali area of Adamawa on December 6, 2020; and Malakaiya Dambade, 37, kidnapped on the Maiduguri-Damaturu road.

Speaking on the development, the theatre commander of the task force, Maj.- Gen. Christopher Musa, said the renewed onslaught under the ongoing ‘Operation Lake Chad Sanity’ conducted by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and ‘Operation Desert Sanity’ had been yielding positive results.

“We have synergy, and together we are able to achieve a lot. We assure the public that we remain focused, dedicated and committed to our task of bringing peace to the North-East,” stated Mr Musa. “Wherever the insurgents are, we will go after them. We will ensure that all those being held hostage are freed.”

(NAN)