During its 12-year insurgency, the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS) has broken up many families, often pitting one brother against another.

Businessman Aji Baba Sale never thought it could happen to his family. But, on a Friday in 2013, the father of six returned home from work only to find his wife and children had abandoned him to join the JAS, more commonly referred to as Boko Haram.

Aji Baba Sale said he and his wife Kaltum married in 1993 and they had eight children, two of whom later died. They lived in the Kaleri community in the Limanti ward of Maiduguri.

“I married Kaltum in 1993 and we were blessed with eight children. Sadly, our first child, Muhammad, and eight of his friends, were shot dead by soldiers when we sent him to an Islamic education school. And one of my daughters died after a long illness.”

Sale said it was after Muhammad died that he started seeing a change in the behaviour of his wife.

“Two months after our son was killed, I saw a lot of changes in my wife, including the way she dressed. She covered herself more. She started teaching religious knowledge to some women who came to the house.”

It was then that he started suspecting that she was being lured to join the JAS.

She had started selling furniture from her room, making changes, and when he gave Kaltum money she saved it.

Based on his suspicions, he decided to inform her father about it.

“I contacted Goni Umara, her father, who come to our house and scolded her. But, when she still did not change her behaviour, I asked the civilian joint task force to search my home for anything suspicious. They took all of us to their sector but then the secretary released us and even gave me 300 naira for transport to take our kids back home. They warned us that they did not want hear anything similar again.”

Sale said after that he and Kaltum lived peacefully. Kaltum continued to attend normal Islamic school, which helped to make him less suspicious and he started to trust her again.

“Then, on a Friday in 2013, I left the house as usual and headed to the market. I was a businessman and had work to do.

“Upon my return I could not find Kaltum or any of the children anywhere. I decided to ask my neighbours if they knew where they were and they told me Kaltum had informed them that they were going to buy items they needed for school. She and the six children set off for the market.”

Sale said he had not set eyes on them since then. It was then that he realised Kaltum had sold some of her things and taken the money he gave her to save up for the move to join the JAS.

“That was her plan all along. I was duped.”

Sale said he was pleased that RNI was covering the story and he hoped Kaltum would see it.

“I want my wife to know that I will never forgive her. And I will not forgive my second child, Kasim, either because I trusted him and we even did business together. The only ones I do not blame and would forgive are my five young girls. They were too small to know what was going on. I am sure they played no part in my wife’s decision to abandon me for the JAS