Ali Mustapha made a shocking confession when he was arrested by the troops of the Nigeria Army at the centre of Boko Haram insurgent.
The 17-year old who was intercepted while on an espionage mission in Maiduguri, Borno state, revealed that he was abducted from his home and forced to kill innocent victims in Chikungudu Forest, Kalabalge, where he was held in captivity for three years by the insurgents.
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In his statements as reported by The Nation, Mustapha revealed the sufferings and emotional torture underaged children and teenagers like him were subjected to in order to turn them into killer machines.
Below are full statements from Ali Mustapha, the teenager forced into killing to survive.
“I was kidnapped in Marte by the insurgents; when they stormed the town in 2013, they took us away to Chikungudu Forest in Kalabalge council. I was held in captivity for three years at Chikungudu. Within the period, I have killed about 13 people in separate locations.
“First was at Chikungudu, where we were held hostage by Boko Haram. Whenever the insurgents returned from a mission, they would line up their hostages before us and ask us to kill them. They forced us to kill innocent people.
“They said they were testing us. The first time I killed, I killed five people. They told me, ‘Ali, you will kill five people today’.
“I initially declined but when they threatened to kill me, I had no option but to kill the five people they brought before me. They later came with three other people and forced me to kill them.
“The second time I killed people was at a village called Burssari. While we were there, they brought another set of five people and asked me to kill them and instantly I did. I had no choice because they threatened to kill me if I didn’t kill them.
“Then we went back to Chikungudu where they held us. They also went to a town and came back with some people and told other victims like me to kill them which they did.
“Although they gave us some inscription written in Arabic to drink, I declined and threw mine away. We sometimes declined to do what they wanted us to do, so they nicknamed us children of pagans and spat on us and refused to give us food.
“At Chikungudu in Kalabalge. Our leader is Umar from Mamman Nur’s faction of Boko Haram. I have never seen him but they usually sent people to greet him and they always told us about how powerful he is.
“My father’s name is Mustapha and my mother’s name is Ya’zara. The last time I saw them was at Marte, when Boko Haram stormed our town and took us away.
“More than 500 children of my age, including younger ones, were conscripted as child soldiers in Chukungudu Forest in Kalabalge.
“Even kids younger than I am were trained to handle and shoot AK 47 rifles in the forest. There were girls too, who were trained to go on suicide bombing missions.”
According to the report, Ali Mustapha said he was sent to spy and report on likely soft targets in Baga Road, Monday Market and Custom Market in Maiduguri, Borno capital.
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