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96 Chibok Schoolgirls Still Missing Despite President Buhari’s Assurance Since 2015 – BBOG Community Laments, Marks Ninth Anniversary

The #BringBackOurGirls movement has expressed regret that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is coming to an end without carrying out his pledge to free all of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.

In a statement released on Thursday to commemorate the abduction of the Chibok girls nine years ago, the BBOG reminded that on May 29, 2015, at Eagle’s Square, President Buhari declared, “We cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.”

In an incident that garnered international attention on April 14, 2014, Boko Haram militants kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State.

The BBOG movement noted on Thursday in its release that “Our hearts remain broken at the failure to close this shameful chapter in our country’s history as promised by President Muhammadu Buhari in his address to the nation in 2015 and various times subsequently.

“The last report we received on the status of the Chibok Girls in October 2022 is as follows: 276 Abducted; 57 escaped; 107 released; 16 rescued (by the Military) and 96 still missing.

“We are equally distressed to learn that after a successful campaign by our gallant military in the last two years when they liberated thousands of people including over 12 girls – now women – and handed them over to the Borno State Government, our daughters and sisters remain in the custody of the State and have not been properly reunited with their families or back in control of their lives now that they are out of the hands of the terrorists. Have our girls escaped one form of captivity only to spend 6 months to one and a half years in a different form of captivity? What crime have they committed? Why are survivors of unimaginable trauma being treated this way?

“We appeal and demand that the President fulfils his promise to his daughters from Chibok, to Leah Sharibu, his daughter from Dapchi and other victims of insurgency, bandits and kidnappers and rescue them before his term of office ends on May 29, 2023. The rescue and rehabilitation of our daughters whose education was interrupted and the restoration of peace in their communities will be an undeniable legacy of President Buhari’s administration.

Bring back our girls before May 29, 2023, is one of Our Nine Demands at Nine Years. a campaign to end Boko Haram, ISWAP, and free all of our folks

“Accountability from the government of Borno State. a thorough report and debriefing on the condition, academic goals, and preferences of the rescued girls, women, and children in their care for the parents.

Give parents some answers about what happened to their daughters, who they have reason to believe are dead. Chibok and other conflict-affected families of students who have been kidnapped can receive psychosocial counseling to help them cope with the trauma; they can also get the tools they need to finish their education and find housing and a job.

“Properly care for the families of cops who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Equip and inspire the police and armed forces. Reinvesting in the Victims Support Fund (VSF) will help to meet the practical requirements of all rescued and returned girls as well as their siblings and families. The federal government appears to have left VSF in the hands of a kind citizen.

“Public statement regarding the Missing Persons Register and the urgent reopening of the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) Missing Persons Desk with enough staffing and resources. Report on the coordinated local, state, and federal provision of security for schools, including those for elementary, secondary, and higher education.

“Status report on the Safe Schools Initiative and adequate financing to ensure its effectiveness. BBOG will commemorate 9 years since the abduction as follows:Friday 14th April, 4:30pm – 5:30pm WAT, Unity Fountain, Abuja; Chibok Community (KADA) Media Conference.”

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