One of the missing 219 Chibok girls has been rescued with a four-month-old baby.
The girl, who was rescued in Baale, near Danboa in Borno State was identified as Amina Ali.
She was among the 276 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram members from their hostel in Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State on April 14, 2014. Fifty-seven of them escaped while the others are yet to be found.
According to her, apart from six of the girls who have died, the other 212 are still alive and held captive in Sambisa Forest.
Her return as a nursing mother may have collaborated the assertion by the leadership of Boko Haram that all the girls have been married out.
The authorities of the Nigerian Army yesterday confirmed the rescue of one of the Chibok schoolgirls and her return with a four-month-old baby
A suspected Boko Haram terrorist, Mohammed Hayatu who claimed to be her husband, was also arrested along with her.
In a statement, the Army Spokesman, Col. Sani Usman disclosed that Amina was rescued during a fierce operation by troops of the 25 Brigade Damboa in conjunction with the Civilian JTF.
He said: “In continuation of Operation Crackdown, troops of the 25 Brigade, Damboa, in conjunction with the Civilian JTF deployed in one of the blocking positions at Baale, near Damboa, rescued one Miss Amina Ali and arrested a suspected Boko Haram terrorist, Mohammed Hayatu, who claimed to be her husband.”
According to him, both the rescued Chibok girl and the suspected terrorist were brought to the Headquarters of 25 Task Force Brigade, Damboa at about 2.30pm, yesterday.
Usman said: “Preliminary investigation shows that she is indeed one of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram terrorists on April 14, 2014 in Chibok and her name is Amina Ali as against Falmata Mbalala that was earlier stated.
“In addition, she is a nursing mother with a four- month-old baby girl who was named Safiya,” Usman explained.
The Army disclosed that both the suspected Boko Haram terrorist and the nursing mother have been taken to Maiduguri for further medical attention and screening.
Some activists told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that Amina Ali was found by a vigilante group on Tuesday in the Sambisa Forest, close to the border with Cameroun.
Amina was reportedly identified by a civilian fighter who recognised her.
Hosea Abana Tsambido, chairman of the Chibok community in Abuja, told BBC Focus on Africa on Wednesday that Amina was found by the vigilantes after venturing into the forest to search for firewood.
She was quoted as saying… “All the Chibok girls are still there in the Sambisa except six of them that have already died.”
Sources told the BBC she came from the town of Mbalala, south of Chibok, where 25 of the kidnapped girls came from. A neighbour in Mbalala told the BBC that Amina was found with a baby.
An uncle, Yakubu Nkeki, told the Associated Press news agency that Amina was later reunited with her mother in Chibok. She was 17 when she was abducted and is now 19, he said. (The Authority)
