Two years after hundreds of Nigerian school girls were kidnapped at the hands of Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, one of them has returned home safely.
Aisha Ali was one of the many Chibok school girls who weren’t able to escape after being abducted by Boko Haram in 2014. The group’s leader Abubakar Shekau announced plans to sell the girls into slavery shortly after their kidnapping and multiple efforts to rescue them have been unsuccessful ever since. However, Aisha’s family was recently overjoyed when they received the news that she’d been found alive and was returning home.
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According to ABC News, Chibok leader and Bring Back Our Girls campaign activist Pogu Bitrus confirmed that Aisha was found in the north-central Nigerian city of Kaya. Shortly after being recognized by a “vigilante group” who spotted her carrying a 4-month-old baby presumed to be her child, Aisha was taken back to Chibok where she was able to identify a member of her family. Aisha also quickly made it clear that she refused to say anything beyond correctly identifying her uncle. Local military later confirmed that Aisha has since been taken to the state capital of Maiduguri to receive medical attention and screening.
Nigerian Officials Rescue 160 More Girls, Women Kidnapped by Boko Haram
Aisha Ali is the first to return home out of the 200+ girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.
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