How I almost became a Boko Haram suicide bomber

On Tuesday 9 February, two Nigerian girls entered a camp for displaced people in the country's north-east. Minutes later they detonated their explosive vests, killing 58 people. A third girl refused to take part in the suicide mission for Islamist militant group Boko Haram. This is her story.

 

Hauwa, not her real name, doesn't know her age, but she looks 17 or 18.She had been held by Boko Haram for more than a year when her captors suggested the plan to attack the Dikwa camp.In return for carrying out their mission, the three girls were told they would go to paradise.But Hauwa knew that she had to defy them.'Spiritual problems'"I said 'No', since my mum is residing in Dikwa, I won't go and kill people there.

Editor's Comment
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While the political shift brings hope for change, it also places immense pressure on the new administration to deliver on its election promises in the face of serious economic challenges.On another level, newly appointed Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe’s grim assessment of the country’s finances adds urgency to the moment. The budget deficit, expected to be P8.7 billion, is now anticipated to be even higher due to underperforming diamond...

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