Some women rescued by the Nigerian military from captivity are willingly returning to Boko Haram’s Sambisa forest hideout, BBC has reported.

This is according to Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, a journalist who spoke with some of the women.

One of the women, Aisha Yerima, 25, said she got married to a Boko Haram Commander after she was kidnapped four years ago.

According to her, he showered her with romance, expensive gifts and Arabic love songs.

“I now see that all the things Boko Haram told us were lies,” Aisha said.

“Now, when I listen to them on the radio, I laugh.”

Aisha who completed a de-radicalisation programme while in government custody for eight months reportedly returned.

Over the past five years, Dr Akilu has worked with former Boko Haram members – including some commanders, their wives and children – and with hundreds of women who were rescued from captivity.

“How women were treated when in Boko Haram captivity depends on which camp a woman was exposed to. It depends on the commander running the camp,” she said.

“Those who were treated better were the ones who willingly married Boko Haram members or who joined the group voluntarily and that’s not the majority. Most women did not have the same treatment.”

She added that Aisha boasted about the number of slaves she had while in the Sambisa forest, the respect she received from other Boko Haram commanders, and the strong influence she had over her husband.

“These were women who for the most part had never worked, had no power, no voice in the communities, and all of a sudden they were in charge of between 30 to 100 women who were now completely under their control and at their beck and call,” Dr Akilu said.

“It is difficult to know what to replace it with when you return to society because most of the women are returning to societies where they are not going to be able to wield that kind of power.”

She said everything went awry when Aisha received yet another phone call from the women who had returned to the forest, informing her that her Boko Haram “husband” was now with a woman who had been her rival.

From that day, the vivacious and gregarious Aisha became a recluse.

“She stopped going out or talking or eating,” Bintu said.

“She was always sad.”

Two weeks later, she left home and did not return.