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NameMalam Musa Abba
Gendermale
Country of OriginNigeria
Destination CountryNigeria
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Malam Musa Abba became a community leader within the Gubio Camp in Maiduguri, Nigeria, for the people of his village since their displacement over a year ago. While living in his village of Ashegashia, Boko Haram often came in small groups, persuading the locals that their purpose was to look for security personnel and that they had no intention of attacking civilians. As time went by, it became clear that the militia were intending to target the villagers, leaving Malam and others within the village with no alternative to but slowly and discreetly escape in small groups. Malam and his family made it to a border town in Cameroon, where he stayed for five months, at that time under the protection of the Cameroonian Military. While he was living there, the town was attacked by Boko Haram. Malam was yet again forced to flee to another village, losing four of his children in the chaos and then forced to return to the previous camp en-masse. Not long afterwards, they were asked where they were from. I answered them that we were Nigerian. Then one said No, you are not just Nigerians, you are Boko Haram so we will kill you. But people from there confirmed that they were not militants. The following day, they were asked to document their group. So Malam took the task of listing every single person and all 52 households from his village. Afterwards, he and his people were forced back into Nigeria. Malam was not ready to move yet; four of his children were still missing from the Boko Haram attack in Cameroon, and he still hoped to find them there. But he had no other choice but to leave. The long journey for him and his people to Maiduguri cost the lives of 10, most of whom were children who died from illnesses brought on in part by the exhaustion through having to travel such long distances on foot. Malam was finally able to reunite with three of his missing children in Maiduguri. The fourth one, his daughter, is still missing to this day, and is believed to have been captured by Boko Haram.

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