There are indications that about 100 Chibok schoolgirls, abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in April 2014 may not want to return to their parents and the society even if they are freed.
A community leader, Mr. Pogu Bitrus, who has been involved in the negotiations to obtain the release of the girls, said today in Chibok that the girls are ashamed to return home because they were forced to marry the insurgents and have had their babies.
Pogu Bitrus, who serves as chairman of the Chibok Development Association (CDA), said that some of the 21 girsl who were recently released by the insurgents said that they were used as domestic workers and porters but were not sexually abused.
He said that some of the girls may be suffering from ‘Stockholm syndrome,’ where they identify with and feel affection for their captors
Mr Bitrus said the freed girls have told their parents they were separated into two groups early on in their captivity, when Boko Haram commanders gave them the choice of joining the extremists and embracing Islam, or becoming their slaves.
He said the 21 girls freed last week might have to be educated abroad because of the stigma they will face in Nigeria.
Bitrus said that the girls who were released last week have said six more died during their 30 months in captivity and that many of those who escaped two years ago were taunted as ‘Boko Haram wives’ by people in Chibok and had moved away.
Bitrus said: “we would prefer that they are taken away from the community and this country because the stigmatization is going to affect them for the rest of their lives. Even someone believed to have been abused by Boko Haram would be seen in a bad light.”
A total of 276 schoolgirls were taken from a school in Chibok by Boko Haram insurgents in 2014. [myad]
