Amina Ali (hostage) explained
Amina Ali Nkeki is a Nigerian former hostage of Boko Haram.[1] She was one of 276 female students the group kidnapped from Chibok in 2014. After 57 of the girls escaped in the first few months, the remaining 219 were held for several years. Of this larger group, Ali was the first freed.[2] [3] [4] She was found on 17 May 2016 by Civilian Joint Task Force along with a four-month-old child and an alleged Boko Haram member, Mohammed Hayatu, who described himself as her husband. All three were severely malnourished.[5]
Aftermath of kidnapping
Ali was taken to the house of the leader of the Civilian Joint Task Force in Chibok, Aboku Gaji. After he recognised her, the group then reunited her with her parents.[6] Ali also stated that 6 of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls had died.[7]
She met Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on 19 May.[8] In June 2016, the Bring Back Our Girls group as well as Ali's parents started demanding to know her whereabouts as they had not seen her since her meeting with Buhari.[9] It was later discovered that she and her baby were being held in a government facility where they were to be deradicalised. In her interview with Reuters in August 2016, she stated that she was not comfortable with the way she was being kept from her husband Hayatu and that she still thought about him.[10] She also stated that she just wanted to go home.[11] While 21 Chibok schoolgirls who were formerly held by Boko Haram were allowed to visit their families in 2016 for Christmas, Ali and another girl, Maryam Ali Maiyanga were not, due to being reportedly deemed psychologically unfit to return home.[12]
In 2017, Ali was studying at the American University of Nigeria, with the aim of becoming an accountant.[13]
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Rescued Chibok girl: Who is Amina Ali Nkeki? . BBC News . 2016-05-19 . 2016-11-06.
- Web site: Boko Haram: Nigerian schoolgirl Amina Ali abducted by extremists in Chibok found, officials say . ABC News . 19 May 2016 . 6 November 2016.
- Web site: Amina Ali rescued Chibok girl raises hopes for others held by Boko Haram . Vanguard (Nigeria) . 18 May 2016 . 6 November 2016.
- Web site: Chibok girls: first missing Nigerian schoolgirl kidnapped by Boko Haram found alive, campaigners say . Aislinn Laing . The Telegraph . 18 May 2016 . 6 November 2016.
- Web site: Parents raise hopes as Chibok escapee says other girls alive . Lamb . Christina . 2016-05-22 . The Times . U.K. . 2016-05-23.
- News: Chibok girls: 'First kidnapped girl found' in Nigeria . BBC News . 18 May 2016 . 2016-05-18.
- Web site: Boko Haram abductees freed in Nigeria . 20 May 2016 . BBC . 5 November 2016 .
- News: Chibok girls: Amina Ali Nkeki meets President Buhari . BBC News . 19 May 2016 . 2016-05-19.
- Web site: Family of rescued Chibok girl demands her whereabouts . Jasmine Buari . BBC News . 2016-06-24 . 2016-11-06.
- Web site: Freed Chibok girl says she still misses her Boko Haram 'husband' . https://web.archive.org/web/20160817200420/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/chibok-girl-amina-ali-boko-haram-nigeria-freed-misses-her-husband-a7195951.html . 2016-08-17 . limited . live . Adam Withnall . The Independent . 2016-08-17 . 2016-11-06.
- Web site: "I just want to go home", says first Chibok girl rescued from Boko Haram . Adam Withnall . Pulse News Agency . 2016-08-17 . 2016-11-06.
- Web site: 21 Chibok girls excited to visit home 2 years after ordeal . Kabiru R. Anwar . Daily Trust . 2016-12-24 . 2016-12-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161231170627/http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/21-chibok-girls-excited-to-visit-home-2-years-after-ordeal/177479.html . 2016-12-31 . dead .
- Web site: 'That I am alive today is a miracle': Nigerian schoolgirl describes capture by Boko Haram. Ali Abare Abubakar. John Dyer. 23 July 2017. USA Today. 16 March 2019.
