Community Tasks Buhari On Chibok Girls’ Release

The Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), an umbrella body of the Chibok community whose daughters were abducted in 2014 in Chibok Secondary School has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari as he leaves office in another six weeks to remember the promise of rescue of the 96 remaining Chibok schoolgirls still in captivity out of the over 276 girls abducted.

Speaking at a ceremony held in commemoration of the abduction yesterday in Abuja,  the chairman of KADA, Mr Nkeki Mutah, noted that 14 April 2023 marked exactly nine years since the 276 girls were abducted, even as 57 escaped, while 219 were missing for years until Amina Ali Nkeki escaped and was found on May 17, 2018.

He said 126 of the girls are back and 92 of remain missing for exactly 3,285 days today, noting that within this time up to 20 parents of Chibok missing girls had passed on mostly from heart conditions due to the trauma they suffered, and some from terrorist attacks.

On the role of the Borno State government,  he said, “Fourteen Chibok girls formerly in captivity who are now back (ranging from 6 to 18 months) are now in the custody of the Borno State government. Their families and community are completely in the dark about the rationale of their being in custody even though back from captivity, as there is no communication about their schooling or whatever plans government has in mind. This raises questions about their fate and well-being.”

He said, “In his first inauguration speech on May 29, 2015 President Buhari clearly stated that ‘But we cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and other innocent persons held by the insurgents.”