Two Humanitarian workers held captive by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) for close to four years have regained their freedom after enduring years of trauma.
Zagazola Makama reports that Ms. Alice Nggatah, 42, nurse and UNICEF staff member from Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State was abducted along with two International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) female staff during an attack on a UNICEF office in Rann, Kala Balge Local Government Area, on March 1, 2018.
Following her abduction, Alice was initially taken to Tombumma, where she was held for two days before being moved to Kwalleram.
She later seven months in captivity there and was forced into marriage with ISWAP Commander, Abu Umar. The union resulted in the birth of a son, Mohammed.
However, Umar was killed by his colleagues, which led to her forced marriage in 2022 to another ISWAP commander, Abu Simak.
Simak was subsequently banished by the group to Dogon Chuku camp near the Diffa axis.
Fortunately, Alice escaped from Dogon Chuku on October 24, 2024, navigating through the Diffa axis to Geldam and eventually arriving at the headquarters of Theatre Command on October 29, 2024.
Similarly, Miss Fayina Akilawus, the younger sister of the late Lance Corporal Samuel Andrew, a Nigerian Army soldier, was abducted on October 19, 2020.
She was traveling from Kaduna to Maiduguri to process her brother’s death benefits when ISWAP terrorists intercepted her along the Maiduguri-Benisheikh road.
Fayina spent nine months in captivity at the Kangarwa enclave before being moved to Tombumma, where she endured three years under the control of a terrorist leader, Mohammed Sheikh.
She was subsequently relocated back to Kangarwa for another year before finally escaping captivity.
Both women were presented to the public on November 15, 2024, at a press briefing by security officials.