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| Photo Credit - Pulse.ng |
“Where is Abubakar Shekau?” they asked me time after time, with the barrels of their rusty AK-47 pointing directly to my head. “Where is your leader hiding?” a more senior officer who had been quiet for most part of the interrogation thundered; to probably suggest to me that he was gradually losing his cool. With tears and blood rolling down my eyes I turned to the officer who evidently had a little pity in his eyes out of the rest “I am not a member of Boko Haram sir. Am not even a Muslim (Shiite or Sunni), in fact I am nobody” I implored inaudibly, as I gasped for more air.
This grueling examination has been going on for the most part of nine hours and I was totally exhausted. My whole face swollen from the repeated jabs from either the butt of their guns or their big fists. I was captured along Buduwa area in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State. I was a freelance journalist who had gone to the terror-torn area to confirm the reports from government sources that Boko Haram will finally be defeated by the end of December 2015.
I was on the verge of transitioning from a freelance journalist to the cat that was killed because of his curiosity. “If you don’t tell us the truth, walahi I am sorry for you and your generation” the fierce looking officer who had been smoking what looked like hemp warned. My generation? I thought.
L’Oréal and The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has announced the recipients of the 2015 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Fellowships. Among the 12 outstanding female scientists are four Nigerians. They were honoured for their work and impact in the scientific field.
The recipients of the Post-Doctoral Fellowships of 10 000 Euros each are:
