Following the recent suicide bombing at a wedding in Gwoza, Borno State, which claimed at least 32 lives, a survivor of Boko Haram's terror has shared his story of how he lost his wife of 20 years.
Speaking to newsmen at a camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Girei, Adamawa State, Jugule Ahmed, a former resident of Gwoza, narrated how his wife was married off to Boko Haram commanders after being kidnapped.
According to the report by The Nation, Ahmed's life was turned upside down when Boko Haram insurgents attacked his village, Bulawaziri, in Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State.
He said that the terrorists had killed and kidnapped several people, including his family members, and destroyed properties and farm produce.
He said that he fled to Madagali, where he started anew as a farmer, only to be attacked again six months later.
He said that his wife and two children were abducted, and he was forced to flee to Mubi town, and later to Girei, where he currently resides at the Anguwankare Damare Camp for IDPs.
Speaking further, he said that two years after the attacks, he was reunited with his wife and children, but things were different.
He said that his wife had been indoctrinated into Boko Haram's religious ideology, and his eldest child had been radicalized by the group.
He added that his wife had also borne two additional children with different Boko Haram commanders, which led him to separate from her.
He said, "I was very happy when I heard that my wife and children had been released after troops stormed the base of the terrorists and neutralized them.
"I was happy because my wife and I had been married for 20 years before she was abducted by the insurgents.
"Unfortunately, my wife had developed a sectarian belief, having been indoctrinated by Boko Haram, while one of my children had also been radicalized by the group.
"To worsen matters, my wife came back to my village, Gwoza, with two additional children she had for two different Boko Haram commanders."