Another Chibok Schoolgirl Rescued, Says Zulum

 

Another Chibok girl has been rescued from captivity, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum said on Saturday.

The rescued girl, Ruth Ngladar Pogu, was married to a Boko Haram fighter and returned with two kids she delivered while in captivity, the Governor said at the Government House in Maiduguri where she was reunited with her mother.

According to statement signed by Zulum’s spokesperson Isa Gusau, Ruth and her apparently repentant husband surrendered themselves to the Nigerian military on July 28 at a location in Bama.

Under Zulum’s supervision, security and government officials kept the development secret while trying to contact her parents and association of parents of the missing schoolgirls in order to ascertain her identity.

About 276 students of Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, were kidnapped on April 14, 2014 by Boko Haram terrorists.

 

The abduction caused a stir worldwide, leading to calls for the return of the girls by global figures, including then First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.

Although a good number of the students have regained their freedom, about 100 are still believed to be in captivity.

In April, seven years after the abduction, Zulum pledged to safely recover the remaining girls.

“As a father of all sons and daughters of Borno, I haven’t lost hope that our remaining Chibok schoolgirls and other abducted persons will be safely recovered,” the Governor said.

Grateful to God

At Saturday’s brief ceremony, the Chairman of the Chibok Parents Association, Yakubu Nkeki confirmed Pogu as one of the missing students.

Pogu’s mother, who was seeing her daughter for the first time in seven years, said she is grateful to God and the government for making it possible for her return.

Ruth, now a Muslim, appeared in a purple-coloured Hijab holding on to her two kids – a boy and a girl.

The boy is about three years while his baby sister could not be more than a year old.

She did not say a word or reveal what name she now goes by.

Her husband, who was a commander until his surrender, is also from Chibok.

He said he was misled and conscripted into the militia by his older brother.

“I am extremely excited both as Borno Governor and father of all sons and daughters of the state, and also as a father to daughters,” Zulum said on Saturday, as quoted in the statement signed by his spokesperson.

“I know the feeling of families of those still under captivity but we have to remain hopeful especially with today’s development.”