A former commander of Boko Haram captured by soldiers of the Nigerian Army has confessed to harbouring two of the kidnapped Chibok girls as wives.
Joseph David, 25, said he was kidnapped by members of Boko Haram three years ago and forced to join them where he soon rose to the rank of a commander. David said that as a commander of the terrorist organisation, he had a monthly salary of N500,000 or its equivalent in foreign currencies. He confessed that when the Chibok girls were kidnapped, two of them were handed over to him as wives but no sooner had he begun taking care of them than Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram leader, withdrew them from him for fear that he would escape with the girls.
“He (Shekau) took the two Chibok girls from me because I treated them well. He said he did not trust me. He said, one day, I would run with them back to Nigeria,” David, whose Islamic name is Ibrahim Al Hajar, said.
David also disclosed that some of the kidnapped girls are still in Sambisa Forest till date. Public reports have accounted for 57 escapes, four killed, and 21 released in negotiation deal with the federal government. About 196 of the girls are still missing.