Chibok: Redouble efforts in rescuing remaining 91 girls, Nigerians beseech FG

By Abiodun OBA

Students, parents and different pressure groups have called on the federal government to redouble efforts at getting the remaining 91 Chibok girls in captivity.

This is as the nation on Sunday marked the 10th anniversary of the abduction of 276 secondary school girls in Chibok, Borno State.

Among those making the demands on the government are the Bring Back our Girls, the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, and the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN.

Commenting on the issue, the National President of NANS, Comrade Lucky Emonefe, said it is very unfortunate that some of the girls are still in captivity.

“We appreciate the efforts of our military and even civilian vigilantes who have laid down their lives to get some of these girls rescued. However, we are demanding for more efforts at getting those still in captivity released.

“They have lost almost a decade of their lives and it too long for them to still be in bondage.

“We call on the federal government to double their efforts and also ensure the safety of Nigerian students wherever they are – in their schools, at home and anywhere. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the safety of lives and properties.

“The leadership of NANS is ready to collaborate with security agencies and make our schools safe and we are proposing a security summit that would help boost security in our schools. We are also enlightening our colleagues to be security conscious too, ” he said.

The National President of NAPTAN, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, said it is very disheartening for parents not to know the whereabouts and safety of their children for 10 good years.

“Such a situation is better imagined than experienced. The parents are definitely traumatised and the only thing that can give them succour is to be reunited with their girls. After the Chibok trauma, look at the number of students that have been kidnapped across the country. Many have been killed. Many have been maimed.

“What parents want and are demanding is an end to these abductions of our children. Our children are not items of merchandise you begin to haggle how much to pay for. Those involved in such criminal acts must be duly punished. When a person commits a crime and he goes free, it would embolden him to wreak more havoc in the future and others may join such bad train too, ” he said.

At a hybrid event organized by the Bring Back Our Girls group in Lagos and Abuja, some of the rescued girls, Grace Dauda and Rebecca Mallum recalled their experiences in the den of the kidnappers.

Dauda also used the occasion to announce the formation of Chibok Girls Foundation intended to take care of the welfare of the girls and their families.

Also speaking, Yemi Adamolekun of Enough is Enough, said both the FG and the Borno State government have a lot to do regarding the welfare of the rescued girls and the safe return of others still in captivity.

She called for a full disclosure of funds that have been generated or spent on the issue of getting the girls freed.

“There is need for accountability and we are calling for that. People should know how much has been spent and generated in the bid to get the girls freed. The school where the girls were kidnapped has to be rebuilt. What they did before is not standard, the school has become dilapidated. The girls that have been rescued but are still being held in military camps should be allowed to go home and reunite with their families,” she said.