{"id":92213,"date":"2024-11-26T08:42:45","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T08:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=92213"},"modified":"2024-11-26T09:21:49","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T09:21:49","slug":"how-we-escaped-from-boko-haram-captivity-by-alice-loksha-ngaddah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=92213","title":{"rendered":"How we escaped from Boko Haram captivity, by Alice Loksha Ngaddah"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"NYTAppHideMasthead css-ikk3s8 e1m0pzr40\" data-testid=\"masthead-container\">\n<header class=\"css-1nf2dl3 e1m0pzr41\">\n<section class=\"css-1ilqx4x e1m0pzr42\">\n<div class=\"css-1f7ibof ea180rp0\"><span style=\"color: var(--td_text_color, #111111); font-family: var(--td_default_google_font_2, 'Roboto', sans-serif); font-size: 32px;\">She Faked a Religious Conversion to Escape Terrorist<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<article id=\"story\" class=\"css-1ygeb3d e1lmdhsb0\">\n<div id=\"fullBleedHeaderContent\">\n<header class=\"css-1sdlmo7 evmxed20\">\n<div class=\"css-f0d7pp\">\n<p class=\"css-178vgup e1wiw3jv0\"><em><strong>After being abducted by an offshoot of Boko Haram in Nigeria six years ago, a Christian nurse describes her daring escape and how faith kept her alive.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For more than six years, Alice Loksha Ngaddah bided her time, waiting for an opportunity to escape her abductors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She had been kidnapped in Nigeria by a splinter group of Boko Haram, one of the world\u2019s deadliest terrorist groups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Her moment to flee arrived in October, when Ms. Loksha, the 3-year-old son she gave birth to in captivity and another abductee, Fayina Ali Akilawus, slipped out of the militants\u2019 camp at dusk. They traveled by donkey, ox cart, boat and car for more than three days until arriving at a military outpost in northeastern Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As they neared their destination, the women erupted in praises to Jesus, shouting, \u201cWe are really saved,\u201d Ms. Loksha recalled, speaking to The New York Times this week in her only interview since regaining freedom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\">\n<div class=\"css-8atqhb\" data-testid=\"emptyDropzone\">When she was abducted, Ms. Loksha became one of the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/10\/14\/world\/africa\/nigeria-boko-haram-kidnapping.html\">highest-profile<\/a>\u00a0of the thousands of people Boko Haram has kidnapped over the past decade. She was a nurse and mother of two, working for UNICEF at a clinic in Rann, Nigeria, an area of intense conflict between the military and Boko Haram. She took the job to earn money for her mother\u2019s dementia care, despite the risks.<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"emptyDropzone\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After work one day in March 2018, she and several other aid workers went to the military base in Rann to use the Wi-Fi to call their families. Suddenly gunfire erupted, the aid workers hit the ground, and an intense battle unfolded around them. Fighters charged into the room, killing and wounding some of the aid workers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Loksha and two midwives were forced into a truck by the terrorists and taken away, driving all night into the bush. She would spend the next six years focused on survival and escape.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"ImageBlock-3\">\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-large css-hxpw2c e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-figure\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-r3fift\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-02-lfvh\/22boko-escape-02-lfvh-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"auto, ((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 80vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-02-lfvh\/22boko-escape-02-lfvh-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-02-lfvh\/22boko-escape-02-lfvh-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-02-lfvh\/22boko-escape-02-lfvh-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"A man and a donkey walk on a dirt path alongside a body of water.\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1g9ic6e ewdxa0s0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\"><em><strong><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions have fled their homes over the past decade in Boko Haram\u2019s heartland, stretching across a swath of West Africa.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Issouf Sanogo\/Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 id=\"link-5c994f34\" class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\">The Commander\u2019s Prized Possession<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After 11 days of being moved around by their captors, Ms. Loksha and the midwives were brought to Kangaruwa, a camp run by the group that took them, Islamic State West Africa Province, a Boko Haram offshoot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-5\">\n<div class=\"css-8atqhb\" data-testid=\"emptyDropzone\">For the first few months, the insurgents left the women alone. The militants made contact with the aid organizations the women had worked for and the Nigerian government, trying to extract ransoms and the release of imprisoned comrades. When their demands were not met, they became angry and told the women to expect the worst.<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"emptyDropzone\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe nation will be surprised,\u201d Ms. Loksha said the fighters told them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Sept. 16, Saifura Khorsa, one of the two midwives, felt particularly uneasy. \u201cMaybe they are coming to take us home,\u201d Ms. Loksha remembered her saying. It was the woman\u2019s birthday, so Ms. Loksha tried to lift her spirits by cracking jokes and doing her hair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Vehicles full of fighters appeared and took Ms. Khorsa away. She was\u00a0<a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/10\/14\/world\/africa\/nigeria-boko-haram-kidnapping.html\">executed that day<\/a>, Ms. Loksha learned later.\u00a0<a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/10\/15\/world\/africa\/nigeria-captive-killed.html\">The other midwife<\/a>, Hauwa Mohammed Liman, was killed the following month. Both women were Muslim; the Islamist militants said they deserved to die because they had betrayed their faith by working for the Red Cross.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-small css-nss59b e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-zgakxe erfvjey0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-figure\">\n<div class=\"css-1pq3dr9\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/23\/multimedia\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/23\/multimedia\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/23\/multimedia\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/23\/multimedia\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"50vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/23\/multimedia\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/23\/multimedia\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/23\/multimedia\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf\/23boko-escape-Liman-lkvf-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 1332w\" alt=\"Hauwa Mohammed Liman, smiling.\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-13ytnnu ewdxa0s0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\"><em><strong><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">Hauwa Mohammed Liman, one of two Muslim midwives abducted alongside Ms. Loksha and later killed.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">International Committee of the Red Cross, via Shutterstock<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Boko Haram emerged in 2009, its leaders openly preached violence against Christians. Its deadly net soon widened to include northern Nigeria\u2019s Muslim majority. The group has abducted and killed thousands of Muslim women, and forcibly \u201cmarried\u201d some of them to fighters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-7\">Common criminals rather than religious zealots make up the bulk of the group\u2019s ranks these days, said Allen Manasseh, a youth leader at the forefront of a campaign to release Boko Haram captives. \u201cIt\u2019s now a criminal enterprise that has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with religion,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"ImageBlock-9\">\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-large css-hxpw2c e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-figure\">\n<div class=\"css-nwd8t8\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 80vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh\/22boko-escape-04-lfvh-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"A soldier wearing a balaclava and holding an automatic rifle stands on barren ground in front of a group of tents.\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1g9ic6e ewdxa0s0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\"><em><strong><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">A Nigerian soldier stands guard in a camp sheltering hundreds of thousands of refugees in Diffa, Niger in 2016. The Boko Haram insurgency has spilled across borders, affecting several countries.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Boureima Hama\/Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Still, Ms. Loksha is convinced that being a Christian is what saved her from the midwives\u2019 fate. Like most abducted Christian women, she was considered an infidel who didn\u2019t know any better.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In captivity, she used her skills as a nurse and midwife to treat her captors\u2019s injuries and deliver babies. Prized for this reason, she was handed over to a senior commander as a sex slave.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-11693c95\" class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\">Pretending to Be Muslim<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Less than a year after her abduction, Ms. Loksha told her captors she would convert to Islam, and took a Muslim name, Halima. \u201cI had to join them because I can\u2019t beat them, so that is what I did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-11\">She pantomimed the rituals while holding her Christian faith close to her heart, praying in private. \u201cWe had to be Muslims when we are there, for us to gain freedom,\u201d she said of herself and other Christian captives.<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She was enslaved first by Abu Umar, one of the terrorist group\u2019s top five commanders at the time of her abduction. Giving birth to his son, Mohammed, elevated her status to that of wife.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The commander was stoned to death in 2021 for committing adultery by sleeping with a Muslim abductee. Ms. Loksha was then married to another high-ranking commander, Abu Simak.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"ImageBlock-13\">\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-large css-hxpw2c e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-figure\">\n<div class=\"css-nwd8t8\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 80vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh\/22boko-escape-03-lfvh-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"Two women stand side by side in a hallway, with windows on both sides, posing for the camera.\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1g9ic6e ewdxa0s0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\"><em><strong><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">Fayina Ali Akilawus, 34, on the left, and Ms. Loksha, 42, in Maiduguri, Nigeria this week.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Taiwo Aina for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Her associations earned her special privileges, like a proper home, adequate food and a modicum of privacy. (When she escaped, she looked healthy and well-fed.) She also persuaded four other enslaved Christian women to embrace fake conversion, trusting them to keep her secret.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-15\">\n<div class=\"css-8atqhb\" data-testid=\"emptyDropzone\">\u201cI cannot hide things to you, because you are my sister,\u201d she recalls thinking of the Christian women. \u201cWe are one.\u201d All along, she told her captors she was content to live her life as \u201cAuntie Halima.\u201d<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"emptyDropzone\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-8atqhb\" data-testid=\"emptyDropzone\">In October 2023, when she met Ms. Akilawus, the woman she would eventually escape with, they formed an instant bond. The very first night they met, they held hands and prayed together and talked about their lives and dreams of freedom. \u201cWe did not close our eyes till the next day,\u201d Ms. Loksha recalled. \u201cShe was brought to me so that we can put heads together.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Akilawus, who was captured by Boko Haram in 2020 while traveling by car in Nigeria, had tried to escape three times before meeting Ms. Loksha. She was quickly recaptured each time, jailed for months, chained and severely beaten. \u201cWe say it\u2019s only God that will rescue us, because we don\u2019t have anybody,\u201d she told The Times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Loksha told the militants she had convinced Ms. Akilawus to convert to Islam. The move allowed the two women to stay together in Ms. Loksha\u2019s straw house and earned her even more trust.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While living together, they slowly began to sell items from the house \u2014 curtains, rugs, bits of zinc roofing \u2014 to amass money to fund their escape. When they had saved enough, they sought help from a woman from the largely nomadic Fulani ethnic group, who are experts in traversing the bush and have helped other escapees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-17\">In exchange for about $90 \u2014 more than most Nigerian workers earn in two months \u2014 the woman\u2019s husband surveyed the militants\u2019 property and devised an escape route.<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"ImageBlock-19\">\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-large css-hxpw2c e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-figure\">\n<div class=\"css-nwd8t8\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 80vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh\/22boko-escape-05-lfvh-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"A close-up shot of a hand holding a rudimentary cellphone.\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1g9ic6e ewdxa0s0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\"><strong><em><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">The basic phone that Ms. Loksha used in captivity. She could not connect to the internet or make calls, but used it to store videos and voice notes from fellow abductees.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Taiwo Aina for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 id=\"link-4c2dc503\" class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\">A Perilous Flight<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Oct. 24, just after the 6 p.m. prayers when everyone was sure to be resting, the women slipped out with just two changes of clothing, their rudimentary electronic devices and money. Ms. Loksha gave Mohammed half a dose of diazepam, a sedative, to keep him calm.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Fulani woman led them to her husband, who was hiding in the bush a three-hour walk from the camp, with a pair of donkeys. They rode through the night for the next two days. When it was clear they had left the bush \u2014 and the territory controlled by Boko Haram \u2014 they sighed in relief. At a village, the Fulani man handed them off to one of his brothers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">They set off on a three-hour trek on a cow-drawn wooden cart, crossed two rivers and hiked three more hours to Diffa, a town in Niger on Nigeria\u2019s northeast border. Their journey had not yet ended. There was still a two-hour car ride to the Nigerian town of Geidam.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-21\">The women burst into prayer as they approached the town. The driver, who was Muslim, kept repeating the word \u201cSorry,\u201d Ms. Loksha recalled, and drove them straight to the nearest Nigerian military checkpoint.<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"InteractiveBlock-23\">\n<section id=\"boko-escape-map-appte\" class=\"interactive-content interactive-size-scoop css-1g95kp1\" data-testid=\"inline-interactive\" data-id=\"100000009842020\" data-source-id=\"100000009842020\">\n<div id=\"embed-id-100000009842020\" class=\"css-17ih8de interactive-body\" data-sourceid=\"100000009842020\">\n<div id=\"g-BOKO-ESCAPEmap-box\" class=\"ai2html ai2html-responsive ai2html-resizer\" role=\"img\" aria-describedby=\"g-BOKO-ESCAPEmap-box-img-desc\">\n<div id=\"g-BOKO-ESCAPEmap-box-img-desc\" class=\"g-aiAltText\">The map locates the cities of Rann, Geidam, and Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria. It also locates the city of Diffa, in southeastern Niger, just across the Nigerian border.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"ImageBlock-25\">\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-large css-hxpw2c e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-figure\">\n<div class=\"css-nwd8t8\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><picture class=\"css-1j5kxti\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600\" media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 80vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/11\/22\/multimedia\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh\/22boko-escape-06-lfvh-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"A dirt row between lines of shacks with white tarp walls and corrugated roofs.\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1g9ic6e ewdxa0s0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\"><strong><em><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">Hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee their homes by terrorist groups now live in shacks and tents in Maiduguri.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Abraham Achirga\/Reuters<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-12\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 id=\"link-23fe0f8f\" class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\">\u2018Nowhere Is Safe\u2019<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some women and girls who escape Boko Haram have been\u00a0<a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/12\/08\/world\/africa\/boko-haram-nigeria-security-forces-rape.html\">raped by Nigerian troops<\/a>, but Ms. Loksha said the soldiers treated the women with kindness, providing them with good food, clothes and new phones. The military took them to\u00a0<a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/27\/world\/africa\/nigeria-dam-disaster-flood.html\">Maiduguri<\/a>, a city in northeast Nigeria, and handed them over to state government officials last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Boko Haram has no overt presence now in Maiduguri, as it did a decade ago, but it is still powerful in the region. A\u00a0<a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/05\/world\/africa\/boko-haram-nigeria-mafa-attack.html\">single attack in September<\/a>\u00a0left over 170 people dead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-27\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-13\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Loksha believes Boko Haram spies are everywhere in Nigeria, and that the militants will try to stop her from exposing secrets she learned in captivity, such as locations and names. \u201cI know that they may not like to see me alive,\u201d she said. \u201cNowhere is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The lives that await both her and Ms. Akilawus are much different from the ones they left behind. Ms. Akilawus was engaged when she was kidnapped; her groom-to-be has long since moved on. Ms. Loksha is 42. Her son, now 13, sat silently as she recently tried to talk to him by video. Her 7-year-old daughter doesn\u2019t remember her at all. Her husband remarried not long after she was taken.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Wednesday, she was reunited with her sisters, Comfort Shetima and Joy \u201cKaka\u201d Atigogo, in Maiduguri. Joy flew into Ms. Loksha\u2019s arms, laughing and sobbing while Comfort enveloped them both.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When the sisters broke the news that their mother had died just a few weeks after Ms. Loksha\u2019s abduction, she wailed, \u201cMama,\u201d and wept, swaying as her friend and younger sister comforted her. Mohammed sat on his Auntie Joy\u2019s lap and wiped away his mother\u2019s tears.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Loksha\u2019s safety is still uncertain. The military received credible information this week that her captors were looking for her. She said she was prepared for this possibility, and for whatever else might come her way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-14\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe same God that gave me that courage will be the same God that will lead me further,\u201d she said. \u201cTo move on, you forget about the past.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<p>\u25cf Report by <strong>New York Times (Apoorva Mandavilli <\/strong>reported from Maiduguri, Nigeria,<strong> and Ruth Maclean<\/strong>from Dakar, Senegal.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>She Faked a Religious Conversion to Escape Terrorist &nbsp; After being abducted by an offshoot of Boko Haram in Nigeria six years ago, a Christian nurse describes her daring escape and how faith kept her alive. For more than six years, Alice Loksha Ngaddah bided her time, waiting for an opportunity to escape her abductors. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":92073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1174,263,3976],"class_list":["post-92213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-alice","tag-boko-haram","tag-escape"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/92073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}