For a year, Aruba Ijai feared he might never see his family again. First, he was held hostage for months by the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists, and then government soldiers detained him for nearly a year, on suspicion of being a Boko Haram member.
The 30-year-old was abducted in 2014 after returning to his village Mildu in Adamawa State, to help his parents with farming. He was sick when the group attacked and could not flee. Captured along with 24 others, he was forced to convert to Islam or be killed. They were all locked up in a room, with guards stationed outside.
