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Mrs Happiness Emmanuel Gungzaar is a lawyer from Chibok in Borno State. In April 2014, after Boko Haram attacked her village and kidnapped 270 school girls, world outrage put Chibok on the global map and attention. Many Nigerians assumed that the attention and outrage which the attack brought should have mitigated the state of fear and insecurity in Chibok, but that expectation has turned out to be wishful thinking. In this interview with Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku, Mrs Happiness Emmanuel Gungzaar said that her decision to start an NGO, Voice for Chibok Girl Children, was triggered by the need to highlight the continued terrible conditions of Chibok, especially that of its women and girls. Excerpt:
The Chibok incident happened in 2014. Has anything changed?
Chibok is a Local Government Area in the southern part of Borno in Nigeria with over 66,105 individuals, a vibrant and resilient community with a rich cultural heritage Chibok is known internationally for the tragic 2014 abduction of schoolgirls by the Boko Haram. Chibok itself carries a painful legacy, In April 2014, more than 276 schoolgirls were abducted from their dormitories by insurgents, drawing global condemnation and exposing the scale of insecurity in northeastern Nigeria. Over a decade later, while some of the girls have been rescued or escaped, others remain missing, and the trauma continues to affect the community. Residents are even now in constant fear of the continuation of persistent attacks and insecurity. Local leaders are urging the Nigerian government and security agencies to respond swiftly, warning that inaction could embolden attackers and deepen the humanitarian tragedy.
Describe any changes that occurred after that Boko Haram attack and describe as well what has not changed. There are rumours that large-scale killings and kidnappings are still going on?
The only change that occurred so far is the government giving out scholarships both internationally and locally for those rescued girls to be able to complete their tertiary institution. But they have failed to tackle the source/root of the situation till date, which is insecurity as the main problem of the community leaving it exposed to the terrorist to invade and still cause havoc till date. Recently on the 4th of April 2026 fresh terror struck Kwapul community in Chibok Local Government Area, Borno State, as insurgents carried out a latenight raid on Saturday that extended into the early hours of Easter Sunday. This thing still happens. Even though these attacks are not always in the news, Chibok my community needs help.
As director of Voice for Chibok Girl Children, VFCGC, what exactly are you doing to draw attention to some of the things that have not changed. Take our readers through a day in the life of the residents of Chibok.
We seek a safe, inclusive society where every Chibok girl child, and indeed every Nigerian girl and woman thrives with dignity, education, and empowerment. We want to further raise our voice for Chibok girls by providing basic needs, education, psychosocial support, and advocacy for their rights. Chibok is home to the Kibaku people, an ethnolinguistic community with a distinct language and cultural identity anchored in the landscape of southern Borno. Life in Chibok today remains marked by fear and resilience. Residents wake up to uncertainty as Boko Haram continues to burn homes, loot food, and displace families, forcing many to flee into the bush or nearby towns for safety. The striking things about this group of terrorists is that they are of different categories that still often attack our people: some specialize with the killing and abduction of the young ones leaving the old ones alive; another group kill just the males – our fathers, brothers, sons, husband and uncles, knowing full well that they are head of the families and warriors to our community. Yet another group often come in to take the women and girls. Chibok residents still live under constant threat. As dusk falls, fear deepens, our families huddle indoors, whispering prayers. Many sleep lightly, ready to flee into the bush at the sound of gunfire. Recent attacks in Awapul and Kautikari villages saw insurgents arrive around 1:30 a.m. on motorcycles, firing sporadically and burning homes. Residents often plead for protection, saying: Muqatan abu ne mai sauqi,ba abinci ko tufafi muke buqata ba, abunda muke buqata kariya ne kawai domin mu iya gudanar da aikin mu na yau da kullum which translates in English thus: “Our plea is simple—not food or clothes. What we need is protection so we can go about our daily activities.”
You are a lawyer and one from Chibok. What aspects of the law in Nigeria can be used to address the Chibok condition?
I do believe that the best law to be used is humanitarian law to address the ongoing insecurity and trauma. Key legal frameworks include the 1999 Constitution, the Child Rights Act 2003, and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, which together provides avenues for protection, prosecution, and compensation for victim. Relevant legal frameworks for instance, the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria guarantees Right to Life & Dignity. Sections 33 and 34 of the constitution guarantee protection from unlawful killings and inhuman treatment. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria also guarantees the right to education and Section 18 obligates the state to provide free, compulsory education. This is to include the protection of children under the Child Rights Act 2003. Even though this law applies nationwide, implementation depends on every state government in Nigeria. Under this law, we hope to use it to protect children from abduction, trafficking, forced marriage, and recruitment into armed groups. We also seek to activate the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, which establishes a comprehensive framework for detecting, preventing, and punishing terrorism, on behalf of our work in the northeast of Nigeria. That Act also criminalizes recruitment of children into terrorist groups, provides for compensation of victims of terrorism and grants courts extra-territorial jurisdiction to prosecute offenders even outside Nigeria. We plan to work with relevant bodies, CSOs in a broad coalition to implement community-based prevention and reintegration programs, strengthen unlimited access to justice for rural communities and use strategic litigation to demand enforcement of constitutional rights of women and girls in Nigeria and Chibok especially. We plan as well to push for state-level adoption of the Child Rights Act in Borno state and advocate for victim compensation funds under the Terrorism Act.
What do you think that the Borno state and federal government can do about putting an end to the attacks on Chibok community?
The Borno State government can establish local vigilante groups under legal supervision, trained and equipped to complement military efforts. It can complement this with Rapid response units where they deploy mobile security teams to rural villages like Awapul and Kautikari, which are often targeted. Borno state can also strengthen the Safe Schools Initiative by building fortified classrooms and providing escorts for students. This is in addition to the creation of trauma centers and livelihood programs for displaced families, ensuring survivors are not left behind. The Federal government of Nigeria can as well increase presence of the Nigerian Army and Civil Defence Corps in Chibok, with night patrols to deter raids. There should be effective intelligence gathering; the Federal government must strengthen collaboration between the DSS, military intelligence, and community informants to intercept attacks before they happen. We also recommend strongly victim compensation and a full implementation of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, which provides for compensation of victims of terrorism.
Many people say that it is not only Chibok that kidnappings are taking place. What makes Chibok special with relation to insecurity in Nigeria.
You’re right—kidnappings and attacks are not unique to Chibok. Communities across Borno, Yobe, Jos and Adamawa have suffered similar tragedies. But Chibok holds a special significance for several reasons: the April 14, 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, became a global headline. The #BringBackOurGirls campaign drew international attention, with world leaders, celebrities, and activists demanding action. All of this made Chibok a symbol of the girl child’s vulnerability in conflict zones. Chibok is special not because it suffers more than others, but because its tragedy became a global rallying cry for justice, education, and child protection. It represents the intersection of terrorism, gender, and education, making it a lasting symbol in Nigeria’s fight against insurgency.
