LAKELAND, Fla. — A conversation with Lydia Pogu on the campus of Southeastern University could go in many directions: Her love of cooking, hanging out with friends and her aspirations to be a lawyer who makes the world a better place.
She’s much more focused on her future than the harrowing past she escaped almost five years ago.
It was April 2014. Pogu was attending a Christian school in Nigeria when Islamic militant group Boko Haram stormed inside and kidnapped 276 girls.
“When I was in the truck, I was, you know, praying. We were all praying,” she said.
Pogu was just a teenager when she was abducted but somehow found the courage and strength to escape the first night of the kidnapping.
"My friend, Sarah, was saying, 'let's jump out,’ but I was too scared…But then she decided to jump out…and then I was able to jump out,” she said.
After hours in the woods, good Samaritans helped her and her friend to safety. It wasn’t long afterward that she found herself in the United States. She was assisted by the Jubilee Campaign, a group that, according to its website, “promotes the human rights and religious liberty of ethnic and religious minorities around the world.”
Pogu came to Lakeland from Virginia in 2017 and now attends college at Southeastern University where she is a legal studies major.
“I feel like nobody was there to fight for me or other people’s rights, so I just want to stand for others’ rights and bring justice for them,” she said of pursuing a career in law.
Pogu’s experience has also highlighted the issue of religious persecution.
“The sole purpose was to torture, to ultimately kill them for their Christian faith,” said Southeastern University President Kent Ingle.
“I believe in God and have a faith that he’s real,” said Pogu. “If I’m in need or if I’m struggling with something, I always have faith that He will be there for me no matter how hard the situation is.”
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