First, they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
—Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)
When has it become a crime to be Christian or moderate Moslem, female and ambitious? Well, from the encounter below, the Boko Haram insurgents are trying to redefine what constitutes a crime in Nigeria.
By Ebele Orakpo
Maria Matthew is a student of Adamawa State University in Mubi. Wednesday, October 29, 2014 will remain indelible in her memory. That was the day the Boko Haram insurgents invaded Mubi and she was one of those abducted. She shares with Vanguard, their ordeals and eventual escape.
All well meaning Nigerians must rise up and speak with one voice against this evil called Boko Haram before it is too late.
RUMOURS: On that fateful Wednesday, October 29, 2014, we were preparing to go for lectures and somebody brought the news that lectures would not hold because there was rumour that Boko Haram insurgents were about to get into Mubi. We started packing so we could go with our luggage but on second thought, we decided to just go with our handbags. We took Keke Napep (tricycle) to the motor park. But just two minutes to the park, we saw people running and we heard people shouting “Allahu Akbar , Allahu Akbar “ (God is the greatest).
Gunshots & Abduction: Suddenly, we started hearing gunshots all over the place so we turned back in confusion not knowing where to run to. Then we saw some people running to a house and we followed them into the house where we hid. We met 12 other people in the house, a family, so we were 14 altogether. They locked the gate while the gunshots continued outside. That was about 10.00am. We were in that house up till 4.00pm when I went out to ease myself. On my way back into the house, I saw somebody on top of the roof of the house where we were hiding, he was wielding a gun. When he saw me, he beckoned on me to come and I told him plainly that I was not going to come to him.
Hiding under chairs
I ran into the house and told the others and we hid ourselves – some under the bed, some under the chairs, some under their clothes and all that.
The man on the roof called out to his colleague and the two of them came to the door and were hitting the door, asking us to come out. In our midst were two elderly women who asked them to stop hitting the door, that they will open the door for them. They opened the door and the two insurgents asked us to come outside; we went out and they asked which among us refused to answer their call earlier. I stepped forward and said I was the one and he asked why I refused to obey him and I said I didn’t know who he was, besides, he was wielding a gun and that was why I refused to obey him.
Searching for men: He asked why we were afraid of them, we said we were afraid because of their guns. He asked where our husbands were and we said we did not know. “What do you mean you don’t know where your husbands are?” they asked us and we insisted we did not know; that we ran to the house and met nobody.
He asked a three-year-old boy where his father was and promised to give him N20 if he goes in to call his father. The boy said his father was inside and quickly went in to call the father. He came back and told the insurgents that he could not find the father.
They turned to us and asked us why we were looking at the boy as they were asking him question, accusing us of signalling to the boy not to say anything. We said they could go inside and search the house by themselves. One of them went in and came out without seeing any man there.
Activities in Boko Haram detention house: When he came out, he asked us to move. We all went outside the compound where we met dead bodies of men, so many of them littered the ground. They took us to a particular house and as we entered, we met too many women – young girls, children all crying. We were over 50 women in that house. At about 6.00pm, they moved us to where they prepared for us. That house belonged to a Christian family who ran away when the insurgents invaded the town. They went ahead to destroy anything remotely pertaining to Christianity in that house. They tore all the Bibles in that house. Even our Bibles were taken away from us.
Reciting the prayer
They locked us up in the house, a two-bedroom flat. We were in that house until 7.00pm when they brought food, water, soft drinks, torch lights and mosquito coils for us. Some Moslem women came through the window to tell us they will teach us how to recite the prayer. Of course, we could neither sleep nor eat. There was simply no appetite and they kept insulting us, calling us all sorts of names – people without religion.
In the morning, they came and greeted us, asking how our night was. Then by 9.00am, they brought in papers and other things and at about 12.00 noon, 1.00pm, they brought in more women they had abducted. At that point, the house was full so some were in the parlour and some in the veranda plus those of us in the rooms.
They then proceeded to preach Islam to us, condemning Jesus Christ, saying that our God is not the same as their Allah because our God has a son, and God does not have a son; that we are mocking God. They said our preachers and parents did not give us good moral upbringing, that we have been deceived. They said Islam is the only good and acceptable religion in the sight of Allah and that is their mission.
Our crime: They laid emphasis on the fact that one: We are Christians. Two, we are women. Three, we have ambition of pursuing our education to become something in future. So they want to scatter that plan because according to them, we are supposed to be married and not to go to school.
They said Christianity is not a good way and so it is not good for us. They said anyone who dies as a Moslem will go to heaven even if he kills. They asked us to bring Bible and they will bring the Kor’an and we will see it. So we told them we had no Bibles because they had seized our Bibles. The next thing they did was to separate us into two groups: the said: “If you want to be a Moslem, go to this side and if you want to remain a Christian, go to that side.”
Majority out of fear, accepted to become Moslems while the rest of us said no, we will continue to be Christians. We were sent back to our rooms where we continued to pray for God’s intervention. It was 2.00 pm now. The other group was by this time receiving instructions about Islam and how to pray.
Becoming slaves
They then asked the insurgents: “If we become Moslems, will you allow us to go back to our various homes?” They said “no, because we are not sure you will continue to practise Islam so we will take you around with us to make sure you have proper training, learn how to pray until the time you want to get married; we will find you suitable husbands.” And those of us who said we will continue to be Christians will become slaves and receive punishment. So none of us will go back home.
Intervention: We continued praying while others were still receiving instructions from the insurgents until the Air Force intervened. The Nigeria Air Force plane must have been monitoring the movement of the insurgents and the abducted people. When they located the building where they had taken us, they released a bomb which landed on the roof of the building, killing and injuring some of those in the parlour and veranda. The insurgents had locked us in so we broke the windows and escaped from there. We started running, looking for refuge.
Almajirai & Mallam to the rescue: We entered some houses owned by Moslems, they sent us away but one received us. We stayed there until morning when we decided to leave the town. Unfortunately, the insurgents sighted us and began to pursue us. We entered one Almajiri house and hid ourselves. Some women wanted to expose us but the Almajirai and their Mallams refused. They hid us and later disguised us to be able to get out of town safely at about 12.00 noon. They helped us to escape and we trekked through villages and bush paths until we escaped.
How did you get fare to Yola?
We had left our handbags with credentials and other things in the first house from where we were abducted. Luckily, school had just resumed and my pocket money ((N20,000) was still with me. I was putting on a pair of trousers so I divided the money into two and as I was folding my trouser to enable me run, I folded the money along so it was from the money I was able to help transport others to Yola.
There were four of us including a 14-year-old girl whose father was slaughtered in her presence and her mother had died four years before. She followed us because she had no one else and nowhere else to go. She is originally from Michika but they lived in Mubi.