A new report by Amnesty International has revealed that girls and young women who escaped Boko Haram endured abduction, sexual slavery, and other crimes. The report, obtained by SaharaReporters on Monday, noted that even while in military detention, these survivors continued to suffer violations.
Amnesty International’s report, titled “Help us build our lives: Girl survivors of Boko Haram and military abuses in north-east Nigeria,” investigates how girls survived trafficking and crimes against humanity by Boko Haram, including abduction, forced marriage, enslavement, and sexual violence. After escaping captivity, many were left to fend for themselves in displacement camps, with millions of others needing humanitarian assistance.
The report also accused the government of reuniting these girls and women with their tormentors in the form of “surrendered Boko Haram husbands” in government-run transit camps, exposing them to further abuse.
“These girls, many now young women, had their childhoods stolen and suffered a litany of war crimes and other human rights abuses. They are now showing remarkable bravery as they seek to take control of their future,” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa. She emphasized the urgent need for increased specialist support to help them rebuild their lives.
The report highlighted the long-lasting consequences of the abuses, including health complications, difficulties in accessing education, stigma, and rejection by their families and communities. Based on 126 interviews, including 82 with survivors, conducted in north-east Nigeria and remotely between 2019 and 2024, the report details the extensive abuse the girls endured.
Once abducted, most girls were forcibly married, with Boko Haram considering girls “of age” to marry from early adolescence or even before. At least 33 survivors of forced marriage reported being raped by their “husbands.” Twenty-eight interviewees bore children from sexual violence, with at least 20 being children themselves when they gave birth.
The report noted that Boko Haram meted out public punishments to instill fear and exert control, forcing at least 31 girls to witness lashings, amputations, and beheadings. Boko Haram also used girls as suicide bombers on a large scale between mid-2014 and 2019.
In violation of international human rights law, none of the interviewees had access to a lawyer or were charged with a criminal offense. One interviewee, BZ*, was detained as a teenager in Giwa Barracks from around 2017 to 2020 without explanation.
Since 2016, most unlawfully detained individuals in Giwa Barracks were moved to Bulumkutu Interim Care Centre (BICC), where they accessed some services. Many interviewees were reunited with their families by government authorities but found themselves in overpopulated internally displaced persons (IDP) camps or communities across Borno and Adamawa States. They expected and requested specialist government support but felt neglected.
Survivors expressed a strong desire for freedom, financial independence, and education for their children. Many aimed to become doctors, nurses, teachers, and lawyers or to work for non-governmental organizations. They identified access to education as their top priority.
“The Nigerian government has failed to uphold their human rights obligations to protect and adequately support these girls and young women,” said Samira Daoud. She called for the Nigerian government and international partners to prioritize healthcare, education, and vocational training to help these girls and young women rebuild their lives with dignity and safety.
Amnesty International is calling on Nigerian authorities, UN agencies, and donor governments to urgently provide tailored reintegration services for these girls and young women while ensuring other affected groups are not neglected. It also urged the Nigerian authorities to offer meaningful alternatives to returning to their Boko Haram “husbands” and to provide the necessary support to rebuild their lives.