Nigeria Boko Haram: Kidnapped Chibok girl found 'breastfeeding a child'

A girl kidnapped by terror group Boko Haram from the Chibok village, northern Nigeria, has reportedly been found. It is believed Amina Ali Nkek was found by a vigilante group after a fight with suspected Boko Haram militants, women's rights activist Hauwa Abdu told the BBC.

Nkek was abducted along with 276 Nigerian schoolgirls as they were attending evening school in the Chibok village, in the restive Borno state, on 14 April 2014. Some of the girls managed to escape, but at least 219 are still missing.

Shortly after the kidnap, reports emerged alleging that the girls had been sold as slaves, smuggled into neighbouring countries, or forced by terrorists to carry out suicide bombing missions.

A leading campaigner in the BringBackOurGirls movement and the chairman of Abuja's Chibok community, Tsambido Hosea-Abana, took to Twitter to disclose the breakthrough.

Nkek was reportedly identified by a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF), a vigilante group that helps the Nigerian army in the fight against the terrorists. The Nigerian army, however, has not yet commented on Nkek's rescue.

One of the abducted Chibokgirls, Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki from Mbalala have been found in Kulakaisa area at the fringes of Sambisa Forest
— Tsambido Hosea Abana (@tsambido) May 18, 2016

by Vigilantes from Chibok on patrol yesterday. That she is already breastfeeding a child, all of them are still in the sambisa forest,
— Tsambido Hosea Abana (@tsambido) May 18, 2016

Women's rights Nigeria — A woman holds a sign outside Nigeria House, London, to mark the one year anniversary since a group of Nigerian schoolgirls were abducted from the town of Chibok in north-eastern Borno state in Nigeria on 14 April 2014 Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Boko Haram's insurgency

Earlier in April, Boko Haram released a video purportedly showing 15 Chibok girls still alive. Although the Chibok abduction was not the first mass kidnapping carried out by the terrorists, it attracted international outrage and shone a spotlight on the deadly insurgency of Boko Haram that, until then, had remained under-reported.

Nigeria is leading a regional offensive with 8,700 troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin lined up against Boko Haram. Although President Muhammadu Buhari declared a technical victory in the fight against the insurgents in December 2015, Boko Haram has been carrying out scattered attacks across north-eastern Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

In the latest attack blamed on the group, two police officers were killed in a suicide bombing mission on 12 May in Borno state.The group, however, claimed at least 15 people were killed in the blast. On 15 May, the UK pledged £40m ($57.44m) to help Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram during a regional security summit in Abuja.