Boko Haram insurgents deliberately rape women with the
intention of getting them pregnant so they would give birth to
future insurgents as successors of their violent struggles,
hence, the need for a special programme to break the chain
anticipated by the insurgents, Borno State Governor, Kashim
Shettima alerted on Monday.
Shettima said from his studies of practices associated with
the insurgents, there is a general believe amongst them
whoever doesn’t share their ideology is an infidel and as such
his wife and property can be freely acquired by the sect
members with the wives serving as slaves that should satisfy
sexual urge of their masters.
The Governor also said that it is held amongst the sect
members that children fathered by them are likely to share
their ideology later in life and succeed their parents in years to
come and as such the circle will be maintained.
The Governor’s comment is coming when hundreds women
and children were rescued by the military in recent days
amidst reports that some of the women are visibly pregnant
even though it is not clear whether they became pregnant in
captivity or were captured with pregnancy.
Shettima’s spokesman, Isa Gusau, said his boss made the
observation while addressing some Government officials at a
closed door meeting in Maiduguri at the weekend which was
made public on Monday.
“I am happy with the recovery of hundreds of women and
children, it is a thing of joy that they have been freed alive.
However, I also very worried about what the future holds for
us if what I have gathered about these insurgents works
according to their plan. I remember discussing this in an
elaborate interview I granted to the Sunday Trust last year.
“These people (Boko Haram) have a certain spiritual
conviction that any child they father will grow to inherit their
ideology whether the live with the children or not. They also
believe that whoever does not hold their ideology is an
unbeliever that should be killed and rendered homeless and
whatever belongs to him or her becomes a legitimate booty
recovered from enemies.
“This booty includes women that are then allocated to ranking
leaders of the sect as sex slaves. The sect leaders make very
conscious effort to impregnate the women, some of them, I
was told even pray before mating, offering supplications for
God to make the products of what they are about doing
become children that will inherit their ideology.
“After getting their captives pregnant, they keep them to allow
the pregnancy mature to an extent of say four or more
months to make abortion difficult or impossible for the women
due to life threats in carrying out abortions at that level. They
abandon the women afterwards to go and give birth anywhere
else. In most cases, the women return home or get helped by
traditional birth attendants. I wouldn’t be surprise if in some
cases, some of the women deliver in captivity and the children
grow to to four or five years since the sect have been
operating for years, perhaps the Sambissa camps might have
been in existence since 2009 or afterwards.
This handout picture released by the Nigerian army on April
30, 2015 and taken this week in an undisclosed location in the
Sambisa Forest, Borno state, purportedly shows a member of
the Nigerian Army standing next to a group of women and
children rescued in an operation against the Islamist group
Boko Haram. Boko Haram hostages were held in atrocious
conditions in the group’s Sambisa Forest stronghold, Nigeria’s
military said on April 30 after nearly 500 women and girls were
released this week. AFP PHOTO / NIGERIAN ARMY
BY NDAHI MARAMA, MAIDUGURI
Boko Haram insurgents deliberately rape women with the
intention of getting them pregnant so they would give birth to
future insurgents as successors of their violent struggles,
hence, the need for a special programme to break the chain
anticipated by the insurgents, Borno State Governor, Kashim
Shettima alerted on Monday.
Shettima said from his studies of practices associated with
the insurgents, there is a general believe amongst them that
whoever doesn’t share their ideology is an infidel and as such
his wife and property can be freely acquired by the sect
members with the wives serving as slaves that should satisfy
sexual urge of their masters.
The Governor also said that it is held amongst the sect
members that children fathered by them are likely to share
their ideology later in life and succeed their parents in years to
come and as such the circle will be maintained.
The Governor’s comment is coming when hundreds women
and children were rescued by the military in recent days
amidst reports that some of the women are visibly pregnant
even though it is not clear whether they became pregnant in
captivity or were captured with pregnancy.
Shettima’s spokesman, Isa Gusau, said his boss made the
observation while addressing some Government officials at a
closed door meeting in Maiduguri at the weekend which was
made public on Monday.
“I am happy with the recovery of hundreds of women and
children, it is a thing of joy that they have been freed alive.
However, I also very worried about what the future holds for
us if what I have gathered about these insurgents works
according to their plan. I remember discussing this in an
elaborate interview I granted to the Sunday Trust last year.
“These people (Boko Haram) have a certain spiritual
conviction that any child they father will grow to inherit their
ideology whether the live with the children or not. They also
believe that whoever does not hold their ideology is an
unbeliever that should be killed and rendered homeless and
whatever belongs to him or her becomes a legitimate booty
recovered from enemies.
“This booty includes women that are then allocated to ranking
leaders of the sect as sex slaves. The sect leaders make very
conscious effort to impregnate the women, some of them, I
was told even pray before mating, offering supplications for
God to make the products of what they are about doing
become children that will inherit their ideology.
“After getting their captives pregnant, they keep them to allow
the pregnancy mature to an extent of say four or more
months to make abortion difficult or impossible for the women
due to life threats in carrying out abortions at that level. They
abandon the women afterwards to go and give birth anywhere
else. In most cases, the women return home or get helped by
traditional birth attendants. I wouldn’t be surprise if in some
cases, some of the women deliver in captivity and the children
grow to to four or five years since the sect have been
operating for years, perhaps the Sambissa camps might have
been in existence since 2009 or afterwards.
“The sect is known to usually have medical teams and make
shift clinics for treating injured men and other health
challenges. I do not have any official information yet regarding
these issues but I have read from some online media houses
that many girls were rescued with visible pregnancy and some
with newly born babies. Ofcourse, I expect our security
agencies to establish the paternity of all children recovered
from interactions with the victims and other forms of
investigation.
“My major concern is how we as stakeholders from the
Federal and State Governments will manage women that
might be affected. I am seriously worried with the fact that
most women tend to hate and abandon children they deliver
from rape. Now, the problem is that these children could go to
the streets unattended to; they then lack access to food,
healthcare and education.
“The result is that they could indeed inherit their fathers
somehow. We also don’t know whether the sect members
would after putting a woman in the family way, identify them
with particular communities and put a mechanism to monitor
the children and whisk them away in future. So, after
establishing the paternity of the children and background of
those pregnant where any is found to be pregnant, the Federal
Government will have to work with State Governments whose
citizens are affected, so that we get the involvement of
medical and psychosocial specialists as well as child welfare
experts so that we deal with the situation by properly
documenting these kids without getting them stigmatized,
monitoring and working towards raising these kids to become
educated future leaders without the slightest ideologies of their
fathers in order for us to cut the circle being envisaged.
“We can achieve this in order to safeguard the future of our
communities. We must show love to these innocent children
as much we should support the innocent mothers. This is
equally in our enlightened self interest”. Shettima was
copiously quoted to have said according to Gusau’s
statement.