Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Maj-Gen Adamu Laka, says the federal government and the entire security forces have not given up hope on the Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu.
stated this at the Multi-Agency Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell meeting in Abuja, which was held in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency.
A totoal of 276 girls were kidnapped on the night of April 14–15, 2014, from the Government Girls Secondary School Chibok in Borno State by terorrists.
Eleven years later, 87 of themare still in missing, while some have been rescued or escaped from the terrorists’ den.
Meanwhile, Leah Sharibu and 109 other school girls were kidnapped from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi, Yobe State, on 19 February 2018.
General Laka explained that the government has not forgotten them, adding that several of the girls have been rescued by security forces, though not just at one time.
“Since they were kidnapped, those who were rescued were not just rescued once; it was a gradual process. Negotiations were done, trying to get them out. Operations were conducted.”
“Luckily, at the beginning of that, towards the year after they were kidnapped, I was in the theatre, and I know what the military and intelligence agencies put into rescuing the initial set of the Chibok girls.
“We haven’t given up hope on them; some of them were married to some of the insurgents. Some have come out. But let our focus not only be on the Chibok girls. There are others who have been kidnapped, Nigerian aid workers who were kidnapped. We’ve rescued some that are working for UNICEF. We’ve rescued some working for UNHCR, IOM, and so on. Do you understand? So, we haven’t relented in our efforts. There is the issue of this lady, Leah Sharibu, not because it’s not always in the press, we are not always talking about it. It doesn’t mean we don’t care. It doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about them. We are still on it.
We pray that the 87 or 80 plus left will be rescued. By God’s grace,” he said.
