By Suleman Ayuba
(Maduguri) Nigeria has a hall of heroic women and girls who chose risk of death over forced conversion: foremost among them Leah Sharibu, a teenager kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists in 2018 and still a hostage of the terrorists occupying the forests bordering Lake Chad.
Yet, a new chapter of faith under fire could be written about newly emerged Comfort Sunday, a 25-year-old Christian, who recently broke out of seven months of brutal captivity under suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.
She emerged clutching her two-month-old baby born in the terrorist camp alongside 20-year-old Rose Adamu. Their escape underscores the relentless suffering inflicted on Christian women and girls simply for refusing to renounce their faith in Christ.
Abduction and Targeted Persecution
On November 15, 2025, Comfort and Rose were abducted while heading to their farms between Pumbum and Kwang villages in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State. The state has been partially controlled by Islamic state insurgencies since 2009, when Nigeria’s complex Islamist-led civil war began.
The terrorists dragged them first to Dille village and later to Yuwe, where they endured seven months of hellish conditions designed to force them to recant their Christian faith.
“It was a normal day… we were just going to the farm to work so we could feed our families,” Sunday recalled in an emotional exclusive interview with Truth Nigeria.
“Suddenly, Boko Haram terrorists opened fire on us. Our men ran and escaped, but they caught us women.” She described daily threats of death unless they converted to Islam: “They constantly threatened us, saying we must convert to Islam or they would kill us. Every single day was filled with fear.”
The women faced severe deprivation: bathing was permitted only once a week; they survived on scraps and leaves. There were beatings; chaining in the sun after failed escape attempts, and relentless pressure to abandon Christianity.
Sunday, who was three months pregnant at the time of her capture, gave birth in the bush without medical care, medicine, or support. “My baby… this innocent child was born in that terrible place. Every time I look at my baby, I remember the suffering, the fear, the hunger… I keep seeing their faces. I keep hearing the gunshots.”
This mirrors the broader pattern of Boko Haram and ISWAP targeting Christians for their faith, using abduction, sexual violence, forced conversion, and enslavement as tools of persecution.
Sunday’s story bears striking similarities to that of Leah Sharibu, whose story has become a cause celebre of Christian persecution in Nigeria.
In February 2018, 14-year-old Leah, a Christian student, was abducted along with over 100 other girls from the Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, by Boko Haram/ISWAP militants. While most of the other girls (predominantly Muslim) were eventually released, Leah was singled out and remains in captivity eight years later as of early 2026—precisely because she refused to deny Jesus Christ and convert to Islam.
Leah’s steadfast faith has led to her being held as a “slave for life,” enduring unimaginable hardship, isolation from her family, and the denial of freedom, education, and dignity.
Parallels between Comfort and Leah: Faith as the Trigger:
Both women/girls were targeted and punished for their commitment to Christianity. Comfort faced repeated death threats and abuse for refusing conversion; Leah’s refusal sealed her fate as the sole remaining captive from her group. Comfort was pregnant at the onset of captivity and gave birth in the bush,while other victims faced sexual abuse as captives.
Many women in these camps are turned into sex slaves, according to media reports, with many offspring produced by rape.
Sunday told TruthNigeria of ongoing nightmares and screams. Comfort Sunday and Rose escaped after trekking for days in difficult terrain where edible natural food was difficult to find for two days. They trekked under heavy rainfall.
They are not alone. Hundreds of other Christian sisters remain trapped in similar ” forest concentration camps, under the control of Fulani ethnic terrorists in Southern Kaduna State, according to TruthNigeria investigative reporting.
Military authorities described the women’s recovery as a successful operation, with Brig. Gen. Ayoola providing financial assistance of 50,000 naira. However, community sources emphasize the human cost: ordinary Christian women farming to survive are abducted, abused, and scarred for life because of their faith.
Comfort’s return has freighted her with mixed emotions. She is physically free but grappling with trauma. Her plea echoes the silent suffering of Leah Sharibu and countless others: “Many of our sisters are still trapped. My heart is broken. I don’t know if I will ever be normal again,” Sunday told TruthNigeria.
Suleman Ayuba reports on conflict for TruthNigeria.
