Janada Marcus, 22, spent more than a year in Boko Haram captivity.
Mariya Joseph, now a teen-ager, was kidnapped by Boko Haram when she was 8 years old. She escaped last August, after more than eight years in captivity.
Marcus told The Pillar that meeting the pope – in a trip organized by Aid to the Church in Need – was among the most important experiences of her life.
“I felt so excited when I saw the pope. Something moved inside of me. I felt peace; it was the best day of my life. When he touched me, I felt so special, excited and loved” she said.
Marcus told The Pillar that she has endured several encounters with Boko Haram.
When she was young, her family home was set on fire, killing relatives trapped inside.
In 2020, her father was killed by terrorists in front of her, and Marcus was taken captive for six days.
But in 2014, when she was a teenager, Marcus and her mother were kidnapped from a hospital, where she had just undergone surgery to treat appendicitis.

Justice Bhuyan Calls for Protection of Dissent and Personal Liberty
Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has expressed concern over the growing trend of treating peaceful dissent and ordinary actions as criminal offences. Speaking at a