Zara Malam, one of the women that was captured by Boko Haram, has revealed the horror that her five months son was subjected to.


In a VANGUARD chat with Zara, she spoke of the way her son’s head is enlarged from malnutrition and the damage done to his ting body.

“They (Boko Haram) did nothing for my son and the same for the other children… No food, no clothing, no water… Not a single thing,” she says as she sits nursing him under her long hijab on the floor of the Federal Medical Centre in Yola.

She was injured during the rescue operation last week. However, she is happy that is out “We were so happy when the soldiers came. Now, I just want him to get well,” the 25-year-old told AFP.

“When they (the rescued hostages) arrived there were not less than 100 children,” said nurse Ruth Ugwu, who works at the camp’s clinic. “When we started screening, we discovered that 31 were acutely malnourished, all of them under the age of five.” Some are now gaining weight through a diet of powdered milk, vitamins, juice and oatmeal supplied by local, national and international aid agencies, she added.