The fate of the 87 Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu still in captivity remains a national concern, according to the Nigerian Army.
This comes as the Nigerian government reaffirms its commitment to securing their release.
The National Coordinator, National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Maj-Gen. Adamu Garba Laka, gave the assurance at a press briefing on the State Expansion Programme for the Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell, organised with the UK National Crime Agency, in Abuja on Tuesday.
The Nation recalled that 276 girls were kidnapped on the night of April 14, 2014, from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State. While some have escaped or been rescued, 87 are still unaccounted for 11 years later.
Leah Sharibu and 109 other girls were abducted on February 19, 2018 from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State.
Laka 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 in to 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 that were kidnapped. We’ve rescued some that are working for UNICEF, UNHCR, IOM and so on. So, we haven’t relented on our efforts.
“There is also the issue of this lady, Leah Sharibu, not because it’s not always in the press. Because we are not always talking about 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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