The Islamic terror group Boko Haram kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls in northern Nigeria ten years ago.Many escaped or gained freedom through negotiations, but the fate of 82 girls hangs on the hope of reviving a once-vibrant advocacy group.Following the 2014 kidnapping, the “Bring Back Our Girls,” or BBOG, group, dominated headlines across the globe.In the decade since the raid, mass abductions have become frequent, and activists have grown weary.
Children who escape Boko Haram territory face a raft of violations by the Nigerian authorities, also including crimes under international law. At best, they end up displaced, struggling for survival and with little or no access to education. At worst, they are arbitrarily detained for years in military barracks, in conditions amounting to torture or other ill-treatment.
More than a decade of Boko Haram militant attacks have displaced over two million Nigerians in the north, with hundreds of thousands living in internally displaced people’s camps. Medical experts worry the camps lack the spacing and sanitary conditions to prevent an outbreak of coronavirus, which has so far infected more than 370 people in Nigeria and killed 10
This week marks five years since Boko Haram militants kidnapped hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls from the village of Chibok. The kidnappings spread fear across the border in Cameroon, where hundreds of schools closed. Authorities have since ordered schools to reopen, but many students and teachers refuse to return