Boko Haram Enslaved Us for Refusing to Convert to Islam, Says Escapee Fayina

Boko Haram escapee, Fayina Akilawus, has recounted her four-year ordeal in the camp of the insurgent group, describing how she and other captives were turned into slaves after refusing to renounce Christianity and convert to Islam.

Speaking in an interview with Arise News, Fayina said Boko Haram fighters repeatedly pressured Christian captives to embrace Islam, warning that refusal would result in enslavement under the group’s rules.

According to her, those who declined conversion were forced to carry out domestic labour and other strenuous tasks for the insurgents. She said the captives were made to fetch water, carry firewood and perform house chores for Boko Haram members.

“They wanted us to convert to Islam and we said no, we will not convert,” she said. “It is their own law that if you do not convert to Islam, you become a slave.”

Fayina explained that the insurgents regularly visited the captives to preach to them, claiming they wanted to make them better people by joining their religion. She said the captives resisted for about nine months before Boko Haram began separating them and assigning each person to the homes of senior members, whom she described as “oga houses,” where they served as slaves.

She recalled that on the night they were first taken to the camp, she and another woman attempted to escape. The pair walked throughout the night but were eventually recaptured after mistaking a Boko Haram settlement for a Fulani cattle rearers’ camp. Their different mode of dressing, she said, gave them away.

“They beat the hell out of us,” Fayina said, adding that they were assaulted throughout the long journey back to the camp.

Fayina revealed that she made several failed escape attempts before finally succeeding on her fifth try, four years after her abduction. She attributed her eventual freedom to prayers and divine intervention.

Her escape, she said, was made possible with the help of a Fulani woman who sold local drinks such as kunu and nunu around the camp. Fayina said she pleaded with the woman repeatedly to assist her, despite the woman’s initial refusal out of fear that helping her could lead to death.

After persistent appeals, the woman eventually agreed and helped Fayina escape from the Boko Haram camp, bringing an end to years of captivity and abuse.