Vestiges Of Violence

In November 2025, terrorists attacked the Government Girls Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, during the early hours of the morning and abducted 25 students. The attack added…

In the previous episode of Vestiges of Violence, we told the story of Bintu Suleiman, whose daughters and grandchildren were abducted during the attack on Ngoshe, northeastern Nige…

It is Ramadan, and Bintu Suleiman, a 55-year-old mother and trader from Ngoshe in Borno State, North East Nigeria, is about to break her fast with her family. Then, the gunshots be…

Adisu Abba is a 45-year-old widow and the mother of five children. She comes from Dikwa, Borno State, in Nigeria’s North East. Long before violence disrupted her life, she had alre…

Christie Garba is a 38-year-old mother of seven who lives in Billiri, Gombe State, in Nigeria’s North East. She lived in Yobe State with her family before the Boko Haram insurgency…

Gina Bashir is a 46-year-old farmer from Askira Uba, in Borno, northeastern Nigeria. At the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency, she lived in Benisheik, a small town in Borno, with h…

To tell stories of conflict, and show what becomes of people and communities when their lives are upended, is to witness both the depth of human suffering and the remarkable ways p…

You are nine months pregnant, barefoot, and running through thorns, dust, and fear. For nearly a decade, Ya Busam Ali has lived in displacement, walking miles each season to farm l…

You used to spend long days on the farm, planting a variety of crops and bringing home a full harvest. Now, you work only a few hours under the watch of soldiers. You can’t go far…

You flee for your life when Boko Haram attacks your hometown in Adamawa, northeastern Nigeria. By the time you return, a neighbour had already begun building on your family compoun…

You are at home, preparing for a quiet evening after your night prayers. Life is hard, but at least your family is together. Then, without warning, armed men storm into your villag…

You’re at home with your husband and four children, preparing lunch like any other day. Then armed terrorists surround your town. They storm homes, steal farm produce, and kill any…

The most precious thing a war can take is a loved one. Sometimes, the violence is even more brutal when it offers no closure: no corpse to pray over, no grave to visit. When someon…

You are married to a soldier with whom you’ve built a life and raised six children. Then, one day, he is deployed to war and never returns. Years later, as insurgency threats start…

You are a single mother of eight, raising your children in an IDP camp in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory after fleeing a brutal attack by the Boko Haram terror group. The mak…

What do you do when your son is abducted by Boko Haram and groomed to fight for them, while you face eviction in your home? For #IWD2025, #VOV follows the life of Ya Hauwa, who ros…

In April 2024, a conflict erupted in Nasarawa, North-central Nigeria, over a land dispute, forcing many people to flee. #VOV follows the lives of two pregnant women who fled and a…

One year of The Girls Left Behind, has anything changed? In this special podcast episode, we chat with Hauwa Shaffii Nuhu about the documentation of the #BirninYauriGirls.

One night in December, terrorists attacked a small community in Gombe, northeastern Nigeria, leaving behind burnt ruins. This episode of Vestiges of Violence narrates the story of…

Due to the insurgency in Nigeria's North East, 54-year-old Binta Bukar has been forced to relocate 13 times. This episode of #VOV narrates the story of her displacement, the loss o…