Amina Ali, Recovered Chibok Schoolgirl, Meets With Nigeria’s President

Amina Ali, a Chibok schoolgirl who reportedly escaped from Boko Haram terrorists after being kidnapped more than two years ago, met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday, CNN reports. 

President Buhari held the baby girl to whom Ali gave birth while being held captive by the extremist group. 

“Like all Nigerians and many others around the world, I am delighted that Amina Ali is free, but it is tinged with deep sorrow with what she had to go through,” Buhari said.

Prior to the presidential visit, Ali stayed with Borno state Gov. Kashim Shettima, who said that Ali, as well as the baby, was being treated like a “VIP guest,” according to CNN. Ali was reportedly limping and seriously malnourished when she arrived with the baby at his home. 

“She is receiving high-level medical attention, and the best doctors in the state are attending to her. The governor ordered for her release from the military, as he wanted to make sure she and her baby daughter received urgent medical and psychological attention,” he said.

Officials separated the 19-year-old from a man with whom she was found and who claimed to be her husband after they emerged from a Nigerian forest Tuesday night. That man is currently in military detention being interrogated. 

Ali also got a chance to reuinte with her mother, Binta Ali, Tuesday night at their family home in Mbalala, Nigeria, before being held by the army, according to CNN.

A neighbor who witnessed the reunion told CNN that Amina Ali’s mother was very upset upon seeing her daughter. 

“The mom was very disturbed,” the neighbor, who did not wish to be identified, told the network. “She was full of happiness, but at the same time, seeing the situation of her daughter, who is a Christian, with a baby and a Boko Haram husband and wearing a hijab, she was just crying bitterly.

“Even Amina was comforting her mother, saying she should be happy to see her alive. She was very happy to see her, but she was also very sad,” the neighbor added. 

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