Before the accidental bombing that took place in Rann on January 17, there have being reports that militants of the dreaded Boko Haram group take young boys across the country and the boarder to force them into the sect.
14 year-old Bukar said: “They rallied us and we were forced to follow them, with the goods that they took from our homes.”
The entire local government called Kala Balge, in Borno state was a peaceful home to thousands of Nigerians most of whom who spoke Kanuri, Shuwa, Kotoko and a little Hausa.
Fourteen year-old Babagana Bukar survived and is alive to tell the story of how Boko Haram, the dreaded islamic fundamentalist group in the North east, killed his father in his presence.
READ ALSO: Young soldier fighting Boko Haram sends touching message to his parents with his bullets
In an investigative report by The Cable, Bukar and his family woke up on an early morning in 2014, just to have Sahur the pre-dawn meal taken by Muslim faithful in the month of Ramadan, in preparation for the day’s fast.
After the meal, they had their ablution and were preparing for Salat al-fajr, the first Muslim prayer of the day when Boko Haram insurgents laid siege to their homes.
“Any man who was old enough was killed. I watched them slaughter my father,” he said.
The 14-year-old and others whose fathers had just been put to such brutal death were asked to join the Boko Haram sect as foot soldiers.
Bukar speaking in Kanuri, a very popular language among the dwellers of Kala Balge, Ngala and Gamboru, said: “They rallied us and we were forced to follow them, with the goods that they took from our homes.”
The 14-year-old was not willing to join a sect which killed his father in their quest to gain territories and do “the will of Allah,” as they continually said in attempts to brainwash the young boys.
“When I had my chance, I ran, and as God will have it, I escaped Boko Haram. I came across a river, which was knee-deep. I carried my bicycle and walked through the river, on my way through Gamboru.”
Bukar slept along the Gamboru border of Nigeria and Cameroon on his first night, but his destination was Chad.
For him, it was more reasonable to travel to Chad than to make his way to the state capital, Maiduguri, Nigeria, and his reasons are understandable.
Bukar who is now 16, said he avoided every path where he saw prints of motorcycles and cars, finding his way through bushes and villages.
READ ALSO: Nigerian soldier rejoices after fighting Boko Haram in Borno state (photos)
“Engineer”, as he is fondly called because of his skills with phone repairs, narrated how he went from Gamboru, to Gwado, to Afade, then Kousséri, a city in northern Cameroon, before crossing over to Chad, where he met up with his grandmother, after four tiring days on the road.
Watch the video below of child survivors of Boko Haram attacks who have never really gotten over their horrible experience:
