In a remarkable development, two Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram have escaped from the Sambisa forest, where they were being held captive for nine years.
Hauwa Mutah and Esther Markus were able to flee from their captors as a result of intense military operations that were conducted in the area. This development has reduced the number of Chibok schoolgirls in captivity from 98 to 96.
According to a security source, the escapees were identified as Hauwa Mutah and Esther Markus, with one of them being from Chibok and the other from Dzilang village. The head of the Intelligence Unit of the Joint Military Task Force, Operation Hadinkai, Colonel Obinna Ezuipke, had given the number of remaining Chibok girls in captivity as 98, in a breakdown where 57 girls escaped in 2014, 107 girls were released in 2018, and 14 others were rescued in subsequent years.
Meanwhile, troops of Operation Hadin Kai and 199 special forces battalion in collaboration with the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) have launched a series of military operations in the Sambisa forest, where Boko Haram insurgents have been operating along the fringes of the forest. The troops reportedly made unprecedented incursions into the hideouts of the insurgents, killing 35 Boko Haram members in the process. However, one member of CJTF was reported to have died during the gun duel.
The troops were able to clear terrorists’ hideouts in various communities, including Garno, Alafa, Alafa D, Garin Doctor, Njumia, Izzah, Farisu, Somalia, Ukuba, Garin Glucose, Garin Ba’aba, and Bula Abu Amir communities in Bama LGA in Borno state. In the course of their operations, the troops rescued some women who were being held captive by the insurgents.