The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to securing the release of the remaining 87 Chibok schoolgirls and Leah Sharibu, assuring Nigerians that the abducted girls have not been forgotten.
Speaking at a multi-agency anti-kidnapping meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, July 29, Major General Adamu Laka, National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, said rescue efforts have continued steadily over the years.
“Since when they were kidnapped, those who were rescued were not just rescued one time; it was a gradual process. Negotiations were done, trying to get them out. Operations were conducted,” Laka said.
He added, “We haven’t given up hope on them; some of them were married to some of the insurgents. Some have come out.
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“But let our focus not only be on the Chibok girls. There are others that have been kidnapped aid workers, Nigerian aid workers who were kidnapped. We’ve rescued some that are working for UNICEF.”
First News recalled that a total of 276 girls were kidnapped from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram on April 14, 2014. Eleven years on, 87 are still in captivity.
Similarly, Leah Sharibu remains in captivity after she was abducted alongside 109 other students from Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, by Islamic State West Africa Province fighters on February 19, 2018. While the others were freed, Leah, the only Christian, was held back.
Addressing concerns about media silence, he stressed, “Not because it’s not always in the press… It doesn’t mean we don’t care. It doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about them. We are still on it. Our prayer is that the whole 87 or 80 plus that are left will be rescued by God’s grace.”