Deborah Peters, 15, spoke in Washington, D.C. Tuesday about her personal experiences with the Boko Haram. The native Nigerian, who now lives in the U.S., saw her father and brother die at the hands of the militant group.
Peters is a Christian, and the Boko Haram targeted her father, a Christian pastor. She previously lived in Chibok, the village where 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped and taken captive by the militants.
“On December 22, 2011, 7:00 p.m., me and my brother were at home,” Peters said. “We started hearing gun shooting. So my brother called my dad and told him not to come home because they are fighting and my dad told him to just forget about it.”
Peters’ father came home; shortly thereafter, three members of the Boko Haram entered the house, demanding that he renounce his faith.
“He told him that he would rather die than to go to hellfire,” Peters said.
The young woman recalled her father being shot in the chest three times. The Boko Haram members then turned on her brother, assuming that he, too, would become a pastor one day.
Peters is the first female survivor of Boko Haram violence to speak in D.C. Her testimony was part of a panel hosted by the Hudson Institute of Washington, D.C. The Christian Post reports.
