Palmatah Mutah, one of the 276 girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents from a school in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State on April 14, 2014; has earned an associate degree in science from a community college in the United States.
The 23-year-old escaped kidnap on that fateful night by jumping out of a truck which the insurgents used in moving them.
Mutah and 10 others were sponsored to school in the US by international human rights lawyer, Emmanuel Ogebe.
She was the only one to make it to the university after one year in a two-year programme in the US meant to enable them complete their high school education.
In January 2016, Mutah along with two other non-Chibok victims of terror and persecution from northeast Nigeria, who had also successfully passed the entrance exams, began their academic sojourn in a university in Washington.
On her achievement, Mr Ogebe said she stood tall in the face of threats and entreaties to quit schooling.
“On the whole Ms Mutah is a well-adjusted, fully-assimilated ‘All-American’ young adult with grace, poise and balance,” he said.
Ogebe said Mutah’s selection to study abroad was based on recommendation from her classmate who said Mutah refused to leave her behind when she injured her legs while also jumping off the truck.
He said: “The graduation of Palmatah is a highpoint of 5 years of toil and travail. Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.
“She is an illustration of the millions of brilliant kids in Nigeria undiscovered for opportunity but for tragedy and even then until personal vision and intervention.
“I am especially thankful to God for vindicating and honoring our sacrifices and struggles for her.
“Some people said they were not ready or worthy of America but we took the risk all the same. She has proven that any child with the right attitude can reach altitudes.
“Interestingly of all the 11 schoolgirls we flew into America in 2014, in the largest airlift of Nigerian victims, she was the only one who personally flew with me.
“I am also grateful to those who helped us support her these past few years.”
