The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has urged the government to take proactive steps to secure the release of the remaining abducted Chibok girls, who have been in captivity for 10 years.
The party also emphasised the importance of safe school measures to protect learners across the country.
The NNPP expressed concern for the wellbeing of the rescued Chibok girls, and called for intensified efforts to rescue the remaining 89 abducted girls.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ladipo Johnson in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said the recurring incidents of abductions in schools were worrisome and unfortunate.
“The NNPP finds the situation very worrisome. Even as the trauma of the Chibok girls remains a huge tragedy. We have since witnessed more horrible incidents in school children kidnapping in our schools which is unfortunate,” the statement partly read.
“These girls must not be so forgotten. Many are still in captivity without any clear information about their situation.
“We can only appreciate the trauma and gruesome nature of their adoption and what they and their parents are going through even till now. This should count in the action of the government in particular and as a reflection of our common humanity.
“Yet, those rescued, how are they being rehabilitated? How are they fairing now? How effective, including the good idea of the “Safe School Programmes?”
“So as we remember the agony of the Chibok girls at 10, the concern is how those still in captivity can be rescued, how the more than 20 million out-of-school girls can be tackled and indeed how the government can effectively make the recurring challenge of insecurity a thing of the past or at least drastically reduced in view of its effects on the nation’s socio-economic development,” the statement concluding.
How It All Started
On April 14, 2014, a group of Boko Haram terrorists kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State. The incident happened in the middle of the night while the girls were asleep in their hostels.
The mass abduction triggered global outrage, sparking the #BringBackOurGirls movement and protests worldwide.
While some of the girls were reportedly rescued, some of them have remained in captivity ten years later, and no hope in sight yet of their return.
Borno Government Pledges to Intensify Rescue Efforts
The Borno government has reassured parents and concerned citizens that the missing girls have not been forgotten, and that efforts are being made to bring them out of captivity.
Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Professor Usman Tar on Saturday while marking the school girls’ 10 years in captivity, said the government will not rest until all of them are rescued and reunited with their families.
“We shall not rest on our oars until the last of our innocent girls are back home with their families. On this auspicious occasion of the 10th anniversary of the abduction of Chibok Girls, the Borno State Government identifies and sympathises with all those who are affected by the abduction.
“The Government wishes to inform the public that we shall continue to struggle to salvage our abducted girls on behalf of the parents and relatives of the Chibok girls who are still in captivity.
“The Borno State Government is committed to rescuing and reuniting the remaining Chibok girls and reuniting them with their families. We understand the pain and anguish that the families of those still in captivity are going through, this is our sorrow!
“We also wish to use this occasion to take stock of the rescued girls and provide an update on how the girls are coming to terms with adjusting to normal life after captivity, and efforts of the Borno State Government to sustain the momentum on the rescue of the remaining girls.
“A number of the girls have been enrolled into local and foreign scholarships or empowerment programmes. Many have since been reunited with their immediate families and are continuing to receive psycho-social support to reconcile them with normal life,” Professor Tar said.