By DAVID OTTO

All the remaining Chibok Girls in the custody of Boko Haram JAS faction have converted to Islam and changed their names permanently. This is to escape any chances of being identified and rescued from captivity by the Nigerian security and intelligence apparatus from jihadist remote camps in the Sambisa Forest – North East Nigeria.

Impeccable sources with inside knowledge of the Al-Qaeda and ISIS linked Jihadist operations in the region confirmed that about 10 of the abducted Chibok secondary school girls currently camped at Garin-Maluma and Sabil-Huda had ‘voluntarily’ converted to Islam and selected new Muslim names. Converting to Islam requires a change of names but in the case of the Chibok girls, their identities have been changed entirely to prevent any planned identification and rescue mission from the Nigerian government. Some of the common Muslim names they selected for themselves include Maryam, Falmata, Zara, Rukkayya and Summayya among others.

THE ‘CHIBOK SYNDROME’:

Almost all of the abducted Chibok girls are now married with children (some as many as 4) to some influential Boko Haram commanders – some for the second or third time after their jihadist husbands were neutralised in battle or other conflict circumstances. After 6 years in captivity, there is a strong case to suggest that the remaining Chibok girls have accepted the lifestyle in the Sambisa Forest as the new normal and adapted to the new environment – drawing similarities to an advanced form of ‘Stockholm syndrome’.

Chibok School Girls Abduction:

A JAS Boko Haram faction stormed a remote town of Chibok, Borno State and abducted more than 200 girls from Chibok Secondary school in March 2014. Less than 6 months (August 2014) after the mass abduction, Abubakar Shekau proclaimed an Islamic Caliphate after his fighters overran the border town of Gwoza – Borno State.

The over 200 Chibok school girls were abducted by Boko Haram primarily to serve as wives and domestic servants for young jihadist fighters in the so-called Caliphate. However global condemnation and outcry from prominent individuals, activists, and organisations across the globe for the immediate release or rescue of the Chibok girls turned the largely Christian girls from potential wives to golden bargaining chips for Boko Haram unit commanders to hold the Nigerian government and security services ransom.

So far, 107 Chibok girls have been released or found through negotiations by the Nigerian government, local actors, international partners and lucky escapes. More than half of the suspected number (about 112) of abducted girls are still reported as missing. After years in captivity, sources say some of the Chibok girls have joined Boko Haram terrorists group as active fighters and have refused to be selected for any release deals. Others have been given or sold out as wives to ‘deserving jihadist commanders’ – some have died in the conflict circumstance.

DAPCHI GIRLS KIDNAP:

The security situation became complex in Northern Nigeria following a February 2018 copy-cat abduction of 110 girls by the Boko Haram splinter faction -Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP). The girls were abducted in Chibok style from government science and technical secondary and school, Dapchi in neighbouring Yobe State.

A quick negotiated intervention supported by local actors, state and Federal authorities, led to the immediate release of all the ‘Dapchi girls’ except Leah Sharibu, the lone Christian student who refused to be converted to Islam. Sources close to ISWAP faction say ISIS leadership had advised the new ISWAP Wali – Abu Musab AlBarnawi (Habib) that all the Muslim girls be released without delay.

The Nigerian Army that had been mobilised to search and rescue the abducted girls was drafted in to stand down and give ISWAP fighters a safe passage to return the young school girls. In an effort to secure hearts and minds of the local Muslim population, ISWAP fighters who accompanied the girls took advantage and held religious sermons with the local population and told them that the western countries, the government of Nigeria and anyone who supports them were their real target and enemies, not the local population. The Federal government of Nigeria, security services and state authorities have consistently promised to rescue all those in Boko Haram and ISWAP captivity.

•David Otto, CMAS – Global Counter Terrorism & Organized Crime Expert and Founder of the conflict resolution programme – Step-In Step-Out (SISO) UK. Twitter: @ottotgs

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