I was a rich woman and my father’s favourite child. I made all my wealth with the support of my father. I had a big provision store in Gwoza until Boko Haram invaded the town and took control of it.
During the attack, many people ran out of the town to escape death, including my family members. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go with them because my father had a wound on his leg and couldn’t run, so I decided to stay back with him. The town remained under the control of Boko Haram for over six months, and I continued to live with my father under their rule. During that time, a woman wasn’t allowed to go out for whatever reason except to attend their so-called “lecture sessions”. I was flogged and punished several times because I was out looking for what my father and I would eat. My father fell sick, and I couldn’t provide drugs or food for him to eat.
Other community members and I planned to escape whenever they went out for an operation. We succeeded in leaving the town. We were able to move with my sick father with the help of my friend and her relatives. We went a bit far from the town and reached a nearby village. But then my father couldn’t move again. I asked my friend to move on without us because of my father’s situation. My father told me to follow them, but I couldn’t leave him in such a condition. He died after three days on a day I now call Black Thursday.
Two days after the death of my father, Boko Haram also attacked the neighbouring village and took us to a forest called Sambisa. It took us two days to arrive at the forest. I was kept there for two months. Sometimes, they gave us food and other times they forgot about us. My first escape attempt was when I noticed that most of the terrorists were out of the camp for an operation. I succeeded in getting out of the camp along with other women. Unfortunately, we were caught by some of the guards in the forest. We were punished and imprisoned for 20 days. We were fed just once in two days and given one teaspoon of water three times daily. We were eventually released and continued living in the forest.
When another opportunity came for us to escape, we didn’t hesitate to run. We left at midnight when the guards were deep asleep and travelled for three days before getting to Pulka village, where we met members of the Civilian Joint Task Force and soldiers at the entrance. We were interrogated before being allowed to stay at the military base. When the interrogation was over, they took us to the Bakassi IDP Camp, where I met some family members and relatives. Before the closure of the camp, NGOs helped us with foodstuffs, clothes, and some money, which I gathered to start up the wrapper business I am currently doing.
As narrated by: Maryam Usman (Maiduguri, Nigeria).
This snippet is published as part of a series, The Day Boko Haram Attacked.
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