Voice of American reported that Nigerian authorities have confirmed the escape of over 60 women from their captors presumed to be Boko Haram. The group had kidnapped the women back in mid-June when the former attacked the village of Kummabza in northern Borno state.
Although the escape of the women was a bright spot, there are still hundreds of girls who remained captive by the terrorists. Moreover, the reach of Boko Haram in the African country had been perceived to be more deadlier.
According to a Boko Haram vigilante, Abbas Gava, the women escaped from their captors on Friday after the militants had left their camp to attack a police station and military barracks in the town of Damboa. A high-level source in Maiduguri, the state capital of Borno, said around half of the women who escaped had already returned to their homes, no doubt to the delight of their families. The other half supposedly remained in custody by soldiers in the town of Gulak.
VOA said that Boko Haram appeared to have expanded. Citing Nigerian security forces, the authorities said that they are now currently tracking the militant group's "female wing" following the arrest of three suspected women last week.
Laywer Tony Mezeh said about the security situation in the country, "Right now in Nigeria the security situation is worsening and we are beginning to see the militants are women. They co-opt women in. They employ children, youths. So we do not know who is who."
Mezeh also added that Boko Haram are also targeting churches as well, which led to the ban on handbags that may conceal explosives/
"These measures that women should not carry bags to churches, people should not be allowed to sleep in motor-parks, people should not be allowed to sleep in [un]completed buildings. They are all pro-active measures to ensure that we do not allow these hoodlums to mill around us," he said.
