Nigerian pupil escapes Boko Haram kidnapping
The boy says he managed to hide behind a bush and spent three days in the forest before going home.
Hauwa was one of the 276 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram on April 14, 2014 . AFP/Audu Ali MARTE
A Nigerian pupil who was among the hundreds of learners who were kidnapped last Friday, allegedly by Bokom Haram, managed to hide and escape from his captors and returned home, to his parents’ relief.
The learners were seized by gunmen from a school in Katsina state last Friday and they were rounded up, separated into three groups and led through the forest.
The escapee, who asked to remain anonymous in an Africa News interview, said he managed to hide behind a bush and waited until there was no sound nearby before escaping. The pupil said he spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the forest before making his way to his hometown.
His parents said though their were relieved and happy that their son had managed to escape, they were saddened that hundreds of learners were still held captive.
ALSO READ: Nigerian kidnappings a sign of Boko Haram expansion, say experts
The pupil said in the interview that as he was preparing to sleep he heard gunshots which made learners run from the hostel.
He said as they were being led through the forest, their kidnappers beat them with branches and the flat side of machetes.
Bokom Haram has claimed responsibility for the mass kidnapping.
The shocking operation instantly revived memories of the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, in the northeastern state of Borno, in 2014.
READ MORE: WATCH: Boko Haram claims kidnapping of hundreds of Nigerian learners
Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu. Additional reporting by AFP
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