Chibok Girls: PMB Has Given Us Hope

Following the assurance given by President Muhammadu Buhari that he would do everything possible to rescue the Chibok girls, the Chibok community in Abuja has expressed hope that their daughters will still return to their parents after over one year of abduction.

Speaking to our correspondent yesterday, one of the leaders of the Chibok community, Dr Allen Manasah said the meeting with Buhari has given them hope that these girls will be returned within a short time.

He further noted that for the president to bring out his time to address the BringBackOurGirls Group (BBOG) members and even admitted the lack of attention shown to the case by the previous government, are enough reasons for the community to have hope.

Recall that President Buhari on Wednesday held his first meeting with the BBOG campaigners calling for the rescue of more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in the northeast of Nigeria over 400 days ago.

Buhari praised members of the group for their efforts to prevent the missing children from being forgotten.

“Nobody in Nigeria or outside could have missed your consistency and persistence. I think you will agree that the present government takes the issue very seriously and as you know, the military is working with neighbouring countries to ensure a regional task force that could fight the insurgency,”said Buhari during the meeting at the presidential villa in Abuja.

President Buhari also noted that the last administration completely bungled the hostage situation and showed extreme ineffectiveness in failing to rescue the abducted Chibok girls, and said that both nationally and internationally, the incident put Nigeria in a poor light.

The Boko Haram sect, whose six-year insurgency has seen thousands killed in Africa's most populous nation and top oil producer, caused an international outcry when it took about 276 girls from secondary school dormitories in April 2014 and later, 57 were able to escape, leaving about 219 in the hands of the terrorists.

Click And Read More From Newstrack.ng