The federal government of Nigeria has declared that it is still actively working towards securing the release of the remaining abducted Chibok schoolgirls and Leah Sharibu.
The assurance was given on Tuesday in Abuja by the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Laka, while speaking at the multi-agency meeting on anti-kidnapping, organised in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency.
Naija News recalls that Leah Sharibu was among the 110 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, on February 19, 2018.
Also, 276 girls were abducted by Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2014.
While some of the victims have regained their freedom, Sharibu, the only Christian among the Dapchi girls, remains in captivity because she refused to denounce her faith.
Also, 87 of the Chibok girls are still believed to be in captivity.
Speaking on Tuesday, Major General Laka said the government has not given up on ensuring the safe return of the girls, stating that negotiations and operations are ongoing to this effect.
He acknowledged that some of the kidnapped girls have been married off to the insurgents, but the government is still working on getting them home.
He said, “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.
“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 rescue 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 that have been kidnapped aid workers, Nigerian aid workers who were kidnapped. We’ve rescued some that are working for UNICEF.”
Laka pointed out that the silence in the media does not equate to inaction or indifference on the part of the government.
He said, “We’ve rescued some that are working for UNHCR and IOM and so on. Do you understand? So, we haven’t relented on our efforts.
“There is the issue of this lady, Leah Shaibu. So, 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. Our prayer is that the whole 87 or 80 plus that are left will be rescued by God’s grace. ”
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