Hannatu Stephens was in her school's hostel in Chibok on the night of April 14, 2014.

Speaking through a translator, she said at around 1 a.m., she heard loud noises coming from outside.

The men who had broken into the hostel were not military soldiers, but members of the insurgency group, Boko Haram.

Stephens and 275 other young women were ordered to leave the hostel and the insurgents set the school on fire.

Stephens and the other girls were taken to Sambisa Forest, the known hiding sport for members of Boko Haram.

The abduction of 276 girls sparked a campaign called Bring Back Our Girls, which had become the rallying cry in Nigeria and abroad.

The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag tweeted by hundreds of thousands of people, including former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama.

Stephens would be one of 82 schoolgirls eventually released after more than three years in Boko Haram captivity.

In the largest liberation of hostages since the schoolgirls were abducted from their boarding school in 2014, five commanders from the extremist group were exchanged for the girls’ freedom.

On this episode of Global News’ What happened to…?, Erica Vella speaks with Hannatu Stephens about the night of the abduction and what life was like after she was freed. Erica also speaks with experts to find out if Boko Haram is still a threat to those living in Nigeria.

Contact:

Twitter: @ericavella

Email: erica.vella@globalnews.ca

Captive - https://www.tvo.org/video/documentaries/captive-feature-version 

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