Nigeria’s president Buhari, in a visit to the country’s troubled northeast, on Monday said there will be no rest until the last Chibok or Dapchi girl is released.
The jihadists are still holding 112 of the 219 students they abducted from the Borno state town of Chibok in April 2014, and also 110 pupils taken from Dapchi, in Yobe state, in February. On a visit to the Yobe state capital, Damaturu, President Muhammadu Buhari said he had “no doubt” the Dapchi girls would be rescued or released.
“I can reassure parents, Nigerians and the international community that we will do all that is within our power to make sure that the girls are brought back safely to their families. “There will be no rest till the last girl, whether from Chibok or Dapchi, is released. “The girls, like all our citizens, must enjoy unhindered freedom and pursue their legitimate aspirations.” Similarities have been drawn between the two abductions, after heavily-armed Islamist militants were able to take so many pupils without any resistance from security forces. Buhari’s predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, was lambasted for his delayed and lacklustre response to Chibok, which happened as Boko Haram rampaged across the northeast, seizing territory.
