When Nigeria’s terrorist group, Boko Haram, first hit Northeast Nigeria, an area populated by Kanuri tribes people, the group was all about fighting western education thus their name, the Boko Haram.
The group torched schools, churches and ensured that Nigeria did not spread western education as it had already gained roots.
The group had not been known to the outside world just yet but the thirst for international recognition pushed the group to begin practicing heinous acts such as killing innocent lives, kidnapping, raping and in some extreme cases, beheading any individual whom they would capture.
Their use of children and women in the attacks by Boko Haram has recently become the order of the day.
In January this year, a young girl believed to be barely 10 years old was used as a suicide bomber by the now internationally recognized militia group.
She was strapped with explosives and sent into a busy market in Nigeria killing at least 16 and injuring more than 20.
Forced conscription of children by Boko Haram has been reported since November 2013. A number of young girls selling goods on the streets or working on farms in remote villages were forcefully kidnapped and forced to join the Boko Haram.
Boko Haram Kidnaps 500 Women and Children
On 24th March 2015, Boko Haram was reported to have kidnapped almost 500 women and children in Damasak, northeastern Nigerian state of Borno.
Damasak town had been captured from the Boko Haram Islamic group earlier this month by troops from Niger and Chad. However, the number of missing persons (women and children) which is approximated at 500 has hard hit the residents once again.
According to our sources, one of the residents confirmed to have witnessed the militants killing about 53 women before leaving with others from Damasak.
The abducted young girls according to analysts might just be used as sex slaves, suicide bombers as it has been in the recent past and for some, they will serve as cooks and spies for the extremists. As for the males, it is said that they shall be forcefully initiated into the group’s activities.
This latest abduction comes days after the jihadist group left close to 70 bodies at an apparent execution site close to Damasak.
The group which started off with the aim of stopping westernization in Nigeria, claiming that it was “haram,” or forbidden for Muslims recently made headlines after its leader, Abubakar Shekau, pledged an allegiance to the Islamic State militia group in Iraq and Syria.
ISIS which accepted the pledge through its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, expanded its territory and Nigeria fears that it might face the harsh repercussions as other countries in the Middle East.
It is estimated that Boko Haram may have abducted between 500 and 2,000 women since 2013.
Terorism is real.