It has been two years since the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping of April 2014 which sparked campaigns worldwide.
On May 17, one of the schoolgirls , Amina Ali Nkeki, was found by a local vigilante task force in Sambisa Forest and then handed over to the Nigerian troops. The 19 year old was found with her child and a suspected Boko Haram member, Mohammed Hayatu, who claimed to be her “husband”.
It brings a bit of relief to know that some of these girls are alive, and faith in the Nigerian Army has been restored to an extent.
What makes her being an under-aged mother more outrageous is the fact that media publications are referring to him as her husband despite the fact that she was kidnapped and “married off” against her own will.
This “cozy” picture of her and Mohammed Hayyatu was taken while they were going through medical checks at the Air Force medical facility.
It begs the question of why this picture went public in the first place. Even if Mohammed Hayatu isn’t a Boko Haram member but a husband as he claims to be, did he suddenly become best friends with the terrorists that they just let him marry one of their captives?
Amina’s rescue, without doubt, has to be the most talked about topic considering the fact that she’s one of the Chibok girls.
She and her child met with President Buhari which is an impressive show of concern from the president.
The most uncomfortable part of Amina’s rescue is the disregard for her privacy. Her meeting with the President turned out to be a press conference and her HIV test results have been plastered all over the internet, thank God it came out negative.
While Amina’s privacy hasn’t been respected, not much is known about Mohammed Hayatu. How did he become a Boko Haram ‘captive’? And if they were both prisoners of Boko Haram, how were they allowed to get married and have a child in captivity?
Mohammed Hayatu’s story just isn’t adding up. And the circumstances around their rescue is suspicious at best. Understandably, Amina has been unable to confirm or deny the numerous speculations being thrown about by various media outlets. Which is why the media circus around her since she was rescued should not have occurred in the first place.
For someone who has been in captivity for two years when other girls her age probably made it into university, one would think she would be undergoing psych evaluation and rehabilitation.
Mohammed Hayatu is currently in the custody of the Nigerian Army but proper investigation and prosecution ought to be carried out immediately. Although there are some other unanswered questions from this story, we hope the other girls return home safely and justice gets served.
