EXCLUSIVE: How I was abducted, kissed death and released from Boko Haram

2015-03-17 12:36:50

The story of how Mama Maryamu Bala of Madagali in Adamawa state is unlike the other people that were captured by insurgents. She had terrible experiences; ugly and undeserved treatments unleashed on them by Boko Haram from the north east Nigeria. Hers is a much fascinating and mind touching story.

Cover picture: A woman holds up her abducted daughter's picture

Hear her story:

HOW I WAS ABDUCTED

My Name is Maryamu Bala from Madagali, Marghi by tribe.  The past three months was a hell of experience on earth. Though I was not being subjected to any heinous work, what I saw and went through will convey my sympathetic story to you.

That fateful day, I and my granddaughter (Abigail) are working on my farm in the borders between Madagali and Gwoza when all of a sudden I heard my daughter shout "run grandma, they are coming on us, run they are here to kill us". I told her “granddaughter run and leave me. What use will I be for them at this my age (67)? Even if they carry me to their camp I will only be a liability to them. I tell you that girl refused to go until when this people (Boko Haram) came and pounced on us. Out of shock I fainted for some hours. Before I realized it, I saw myself in a very big forest with different kinds of people both old and Young including women of different age groups having a sort of division of labour with instructors and armed men monitoring everything everyone is doing.

MY LIFE IN BOKO HARAM CAMP

My grown up daughter being a very agile and beautiful Girl they immediately seized her to a different unit of the camp. They converted the two of us to Islam when found out that that we are Christian from Madagali. They gave us Muslim veil and told us from today we are no longer Christians. They thought me to be meditating a portion of Koran on daily basis. My son you cannot believe me, it surprised me so much that their kind of Islam is different with the one I know many of my relations are practicing in Madagali. They thought us to be worshiping on difference timing from the time I use to see my people observing when they are to pray. Atimes east is not a compulsory focus area of worship, anywhere can serve the purpose. My first three weeks in that camp opened my eyes to discover that that place is meant to be training amateurs and foot soldiers. Sometimes you see Helicopters are dropping things in cartoons, heavy objects are always being uploaded using the people captured with very hash instructions. Failure to do that or any unnecessary delay you will just hear a gun shot on somebody's head, if you are lucky it will be on your leg. They then drag your corpse to a nearby bush and burry.

In that camp I saw different people they called Ameer, who are mostly going round the camp making sure all people are always adhering to the teachings of Islam. There are other people who are always armed and combat ready that they do refer to as commandant. These ones are more dreadful than any one; they are the people commanding thousands of newly recruited members. On daily basis I am the one that normally ask to pray for them, asking Allah's favor on their behalf as I happened to be the oldest woman, not doing any work at all.

I was later taken to a different camp close to Sambisa, the camp is between our lands in Michika and those areas of Cameroon, I know those areas very well because as a young woman we use to go there for farms, fire woods and trek through to other parts of Cameroon. That camp formation is more organized and structured than the former one. In this one I suspected it to be where Chibok Girls were kept.  Every morning a lanky shrink bearded man will come and address the whole congregation, given order for duties. I was treated by a professional Doctor. In that camp I also saw engineers, young girls who are nurses, drivers, carpenters, communication experts and many others that I cannot describe their careers. It was only in that camp that one of the commandants came to my sleeping room and asked me to be careful to follow all instructions or else he will drink my blood for lunch. I knew that day my life has come to an end and I concluded my granddaughter has gone to our ancestors as there was no trace of her since I left the former camp.

My son I saw devils; I saw cannibals and people who can do anything in the name of religion. My duty in that is to always observe the Abridged five normal prayers a day, to also sit down to be memorising Koran. After my stay in that camp for more than a month I noticed people on every day going into the other phase of the building amidst tied security, some of the people they resemble Arabs with long hair, while some are pure white coming around having some series of meetings. A girl who is one of the maids confided in me and said "Mama you see other side of the camp is where Abubakar Shekau and top commandant are living, there are many girls of our age there, even me they don't allow to go there."

When that young girl said that to me, I quickly remember the story of abducted Chibok School Girls, though I did not see them but my spirit told me they are in that camp.

HOW I WAS RELEASED

They still transfer me with many other people to a different camp much closer to Cameroon as I was told by our Ameer that we will be taken to Sudan for special training. It was there I started crying to that man, asking him what use I will be to them, begging him to help me go back to Madagali. The Man immediately shouted me down and threatened to kill me. Same day they brought other people from another camp. Miraculously I saw my granddaughter in a very bad condition. It dawned on me that they could have defiled her.

In the night, a man I never met walked up to where we were sleeping and said, "I saw you crying yesterday and it touched my heart, I was kidnaped just like you for more than four years, but don't worry I will help you to escape you and your daughter this night."

After some few hours he still came back to us and tapped my daughter. When she woke up, he asked her to wake me too. The man held my hand, commanded us not to say a word. My brother we trekked in the that evil forest until my strength failed me, when the man notice I no longer have strength, he backed me and we walked close to thirty kilometers and got to place well fenced. There he asked us to sit down and rest. We rested for about five minutes. He now told us to go and get bench, close by. It appears that place is use to be a deserted training camp of the Boko Haram.

They arranged the bench and chairs and he asked my girl to climb up to the other side. When my daughter successfully did that, this hefty man high held me up to my daughter's end where she struggled to hold me down. Immediately he jumped up to our side, we walked outside that forest to a point we discovered a narrow path, it was there he said we should just keep on walking until the day will break and he bade us goodbye. It was from that place we trekked for five days to Yola, Adamawa state.

By Tom Garba, Yola, Adamawa state

Source: Store in besieged Kenyan mall run by attackers or associates

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- To anyone shopping at Nairobi's Westgate Mall, it would likely have seemed just another store.

But according to a Kenyan intelligence official, the small shop concealed an ominous secret. It was rented by the Al-Shabaab terrorists, or their associates, who within a year would carry out an attack on the upscale shopping mall.

The information -- revealed Friday to CNN by the source, who is close to the investigation into the attack -- suggests the Somalian terror organization had been planning the operation at least that long.

How the team of terrorists got their weapons and explosives into the mall without notice is a central part of the investigation into the attack, which left at least 67 people dead and parts of the upscale mall in ruins.

The Kenya Red Cross said Friday that 61 people remain unaccounted for. Some could be buried in the rubble of the partially collapsed mall.

Photos: Kenya mourns mall shooting victims

Voices from the Westgate Mall

Bergen: Unlikely women were attackers

At least five of the terrorists also died before Kenyan forces were finally able to bring the siege to an end on Tuesday. The terrorists stormed the building Saturday.

Read: Mall attack timeline

On a Twitter account believed to be run by Al-Shabaab, the group promised more attacks to come.

"The mesmeric performance by the #Westgate Warriors was undoubtedly gripping, but despair not folks, that was just the premiere of Act 1," according to a tweet posted Thursday.

CNN could not confirm the authenticity of the tweet, but CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said the account, which has also posted links to statements from Shabaab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, appears to be legitimate, even if not "100% authenticated."

Several Twitter accounts attributed to Al-Shabaab have been shut down in recent days, likely for violating the company's rules against promoting violence in tweets.

While Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said Friday that eight suspects are being held for questioning in the attack, authorities are increasingly concerned that some of the attackers managed to escape alongside fleeing civilians in the aftermath of the initial attack, U.S. law enforcement officials told CNN.

On Thursday, a Kenyan counterterrorism source told CNN that one of the suspects is an injured Kenyan who was being evacuated when a machine gun magazine fell out of his pocket, leading to suspicion he was among the automatic-weapon toting terrorists who roamed the mall killing civilians. He is being held in a military hospital, the source said.

READ: Source: Kenya mall attack suspect eyed after ammunition fell out of his pocket

Among the suspects are three people picked up near the Ugandan border, the Kenyan official who revealed information about the mall store told CNN.

Facebook’s Zuckerberg Says U.S. Spying Hurt Users’ Trust

Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said revelations about U.S. government surveillance hurt users’ trust in Internet companies and that knowing more about the programs would help relieve some of the public concerns.
In a rare appearance in Washington at an event hosted by the Atlantic magazine, the 29-year-old social media billionaire urged the federal government to tell the general public more about the requests for data it makes to Internet companies.

Zuckerberg was also holding meetings with members of Congress from both parties to lobby for immigration reform.
“What I can tell from the data that I see at Facebook is that I think the more transparency and communication the government could do about how they’re requesting the data from us, the better everyone would feel about it,” he said.
“From reading in the media, you couldn’t get a sense whether the number of requests that the government makes is closer to a thousand or closer to a 100 million. … I think the more transparency the government has, the better folks would feel.”
Zuckerberg also expressed concerns that the outcry about vast secret spy programs run by the National Security Agency and the U.S. response could alienate other countries and hurt innovation globally. In San Francisco last week, Zuckerberg said the government “blew it” on the spy programs.
“Response to the NSA issues that have blown up are a big deal for the Internet as a global platform. And some of the government statements I think have been profoundly unhelpful,” he said.
“‘Oh, we only spy on non-Americans.’ Gee thanks,” Zuckerberg said, adding, “We’re trying to provide an international service, not get crushed in those places either.”
Earlier this year, Facebook said some 1.1 billion people around the world used its site each month.
The tech sector has been pushing for more disclosures about government data requests as Internet companies seeks to shake off the concerns about their involvement in vast secret U.S. surveillance programs revealed by former spy contractor Edward Snowden.
Earlier this month, Facebook joined Yahoo! Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp in asking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for freedom to disclose aggregate data about the orders and requests for information they receive under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
On Wednesday, Zuckerberg said the revelations about U.S. online surveillance had a much bigger impact on users’ trust in Facebook than any criticisms related to the company’s own privacy policies.
PRIORITY ON IMMIGRATION
The issue that brought California-based Zuckerberg to Washington was his push for immigration reform, which has prompted him to wade deep into political waters.
This year, he founded an advocacy group, FWD.us, that lobbies for a comprehensive immigration reform, promoting the concept of building a “knowledge economy.” The group has come under fire for ads that backed pro-immigration lawmakers on issues unrelated to immigration, such as oil drilling.
“We just want to be there to help support folks who are going to have to take challenging positions on something that’s going to be controversial but they ultimately believe is the right thing,” Zuckerberg said.
He was scheduled for sitdowns on Thursday with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi as the House of Representatives poses an uphill battle for the immigration legislation, which already has been passed by the Senate.
Zuckerburg, who ditched his signature hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans in favor of a dark suit and tie on Wednesday as he made his way through the hallways of Congress, said he was optimistic the legislation’s chances.

We’ll not succumb to blackmail, BSU ASUU tells Suswam •As Ajasin varsity gets set to pull out of strike

Barely 48 hours after the Benue State governor, Dr Gabriel Suswam, ordered the Benue State University (BSU) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resume work on October 2, 2013, the striking lecturers have waved the order aside, saying they will not succumb to blackmail.
The governor had directed the management of the state university to evoke the “no work, no pay rule,” on the lecturers if they failed to pull out of what he described as “sympathy strike’’ and resume work as from October.
But the chairman of BSU ASUU, Dr David Ukooh, who spoke to newsmen yesterday after the union’s congress said his members would not succumb to any form of blackmail, threat or intimidation.
 Ukooh said the governor’s comment was “mere political propaganda’’ intended to blackmail the lecturers, adding that BSU ASUU executive lacked the power to suspend the strike.
“The  strike embarked upon by BSU ASUU is a national strike and not a local one. The branch exco has no power to suspend the strike. We are a union and we have  modalities which has to be followed logically. The NEC of ASUU called this strike and it is only when they ask us to call off the strike that we can do so.”
“This is not the first time ASUU will go on strike. If the governor insists on no work, no pay, we are not worried, we will meet our work where we left it. But when we resume, we will also insist on no pay, no work. The governor’s statement is borne out of ignorance,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of the Ondo State-owned Adekunle Ajasin University (AAUA), Akungba-Akoko, Professor Olufemi Mimiko, has said that the university will soon recall its students and lecturers back on campus if the three-month-old strike by ASUU is not called off by the end of September.
Mimiko disclosed the plan of the university during an interview with the Nigerian Tribune. He said the protracted strike had affected the activities of the institution, which had unbroken and stable academic calendar in the last four years.
“We had unbroken four-year academic calendar before the strike began.  The strike has affected our programmes.  It is not in the interest of our students.
“We hope ASUU will call off the strike soon. If not, we are considering taking a measure to bring our students back on campus. Precisely, if by the end of September, the strike is not called off nationally, we will begin the process of calling off the strike locally,” he said.
“We are consulting with our lecturers. Ours  is a state university and the case is different. We don’t have any subsisting agreement with the ASUU. It is the Federal Government that has issues with the ASUU.
“In  the first instance, our own lecturers are not even expected to go on strike  along with the ASUU of the Federal Government-owned  institutions. They are not employees of the Federal Government.

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No Work No Pay-Lecturers Defy Suswam’s Order To Return To Work

The Benue State University Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has vowed to continue with the ongoing strike by the union in spite of the threat by Governor Gabriel Suswam to sack them.
Dr Samuel Ikoni, Chairman of the state chapter of ASUU, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Makurdi that only the national leadership of the union could call off the strike.
“On the threat of sack, we are waiting to be served, there is no problem over that,” he said.
He also said the governor was at liberty to implement the “No work, No pay policy,” adding that members of the union would not be intimidated to return to work.
Ikoni said that the issues that necessitated the strike in public universities across the country could only be resolved by the national executive officers of the union.
NAN recalls that Suswam had ordered the teachers to return to work before October 2, or face the wrath of the government.
Suswam had also threatened to invoke the “No work, No pay policy” to compel the lecturers to return to work.

Igini Reiterates Jega’s Call To Politicians Not To Heat Up Polity.

 The Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Cross River state, Mr Mike Igini reiterated the call by the commission’s chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega that politicians should not over heat the polity ahead of the 2015 general elections.

He justified the call by citing the events that followed 2011 general elections noting that “the commission sat after the elections and collated all the reports from the 36 states of the federation, made evaluation and it was very clear that from the analysis done, looking at our strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats in terms of both internal and external factors, it was clear to us that one of the critical stakeholders whose action or inaction will impact negatively or positively on the electoral process remains the political class”.
While speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, Igini said the commission noted that the 2011 general election could have been better than it was but was glad to reveal that “Nigerians and the international communities all came with one result; that the 2011 election was a remarkable departure from what used to happen before”.
He added that new visioning process was brought into being because of the commission’s drive to move from where it stopped in 2011 to provide a better electoral process in 2015 hence the setting up of a Strategic Planning Committee.
He further added that “we (INEC) want to be one of the best commissions that organizes election in the whole world, we came out with our own mission that INEC as a body must be an effective entity committed to the conduct of free, fair and credible election for sustainable democracy in the country”.

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Navy Yard Shooting in Washington, D.C.

Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis ‘traumatised by 9/11′



Aaron Alexis, deceased, is believed to be responsible for the shootings at the Washington Navy Yard, in the Southeast area of Washington, DC, around 8:20 a.m. on Sept. 16

At least 13 people are dead after a shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., this morning.

The shooting took place around 8:20 a.m. this morning at the Navy Sea Systems Command headquarters building, according to officials. Law enforcement sources tell ABC news it appears that a shooter has been neutralized, but the situation is described as "fluid" and police are continuing to clear the scene, they said.

Updates will appear automatically when the event starts or at this link if you are on a mobile device.
The lone gunman blamed for killing 12 people at a US navy base in Washington DC just miles from the White House had anger management issues and was traumatised by the September 11 attacks, it has been claimed.

Former navy reservist Aaron Alexis died yesterday in a shootout with police after opening fire at the US Naval Sea Systems Command in the capital’s highly-secured Navy Yard complex.

His victims were aged between 46 and 73, while eight others were wounded.

DC mayor Vincent Gray said there was no apparent motive for the ‘horrific tragedy’.

Police now believe 34-year-old Alexis, who the FBI said had gained access to the yard with a valid pass, was acting alone, having earlier appealed for information over second and third suspects.

US president Barack Obama lamented ‘yet another mass shooting’, the deadliest at a US-based military installation since army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan killed 13 and wounded 30 at Fort Hood in Texas.

He was convicted last month and sentenced to death.

Writing on Twitter, UK prime minister David Cameron said: ‘Tragic events at the Washington Navy Yard. My thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost loved ones.’

New York City native Alexis, a convert to Buddhism, opened fire at around 8.20am local time, armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, a shotgun and later a handgun he picked up from a police officer.

The IT employee, whose last address was Fort Worth in Texas, was discharged a

It has emerged that he was previously involved in shooting incidents in Seattle in 2004 and Fort Worth in 2010.

Last night the Seattle police department released a report saying Alexis shot the tyres of a car, in part because he was traumatised by the September 11 terror attacks three years previously.
Alexis claimed he had suffered an ‘anger-fuelled blackout’ after being mocked by construction workers, the report said.

‘Alexis also told police he was present during ‘the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and described how those events had disturbed him,’ it continued.

‘Detectives later spoke with Alexis’ father, who lived in New York at the time, who told police Alexis had anger management problems associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, and that Alexis had been an active participant in rescue attempts on September 11, 2001.’