About seven years after some school girls from Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok local government area, Borno State, northeast Nigeria were abducted in their dormitory, more of the missing schoolgirls are said to be returning home.
Emmanuel Ogebe, a Nigerian human rights lawyer who practices in the United States and has previously worked with some of the freed girls and their families, said a parent told him that his daughter and others have escaped their captors.
“Mr. Ali Maiyanga’s two daughters were part of the few Muslim schoolgirls taken with the majority Christian Chibok girls.
Information currently available to us indicates that there are other escapees with the army whom parents are anxiously waiting to identify,” Ogebe said in a statement.
READ ALSO: Buhari reveals what he will never do on Chibok Girls
“We spoke and confirmed from Mr. Ali Maiyanga moments ago that he in fact spoke with his daughter today, who informed him that she along with others were rescued.
Her sister who escaped four years ago and is on school break was overjoyed at the news of her sibling’s escape.”
Lawal Zannah, secretary of the Chibok Parents Association whose daughter was among those abducted, also confirmed the news.
“We heard that some of our girls have escaped from the forest, but we are yet to get the detail about their number,” Zannah told reporters.
Another parent, Malam Madu Mutta, said the Chibok community is anxiously awaiting the girls’ arrival.
“We were told they are currently with the security operatives. We are yet to know the numbers, but we are happy that some of them escaped,” Mutta told reporters Friday.
“So many other parents and relatives are coming from Chibok with hopes of meeting their daughters. Again, hope is risen that we can have some of them back again.”
Meanwhile, the federal government authorities have not yet released a statement officially confirming the matter.
It could be recalled that in April 2014, members of the jihadist group Boko Haram ambushed an all-girls boarding school in Chibok in the middle of the night and kidnapped 276 students before vanishing into the forest.
Some of the girls managed to escape on their own, while others were later rescued or freed following negotiations. But the fate of many has remained unknown.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.