President Muhammadu Buhari says all victims of abductions by terror groups, including Leah Sharibu, the abducted Chibok girl and other Dapchi schoolchildren, will regain their freedom.
The President gave the assurance on Monday at a breakfast dialogue themed: ‘Stop the War on Children Affected by Armed Conflicts, Dividend of Silencing the Guns’, held on the sidelines of the ongoing 33rd African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The programme was co-sponsored by the governments of Nigeria, Uganda and Norway, the AU Commission and Save the Children.
Buhari, who also charged AU Peace and Security Council to energetically champion the strategy to stop the war against children, said his administration had a frontal onslaught on Boko Haram and the “so-called” Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), as part of measures to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.
The President was quoted in a statement yesterday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, as having said that the onslaught, led to the release of “a number of schoolgirls from Chibok and Dapchi earlier abducted by Boko Haram” in the Northeast.
He said: “Let me categorically reassure you of the steadfast commitment of the Government of Nigeria to ensure the freedom of all kidnapped children from the shackles of Boko Haram.
“We will not relent until every child, boy, or girl, every Nigerian adult in custody of Boko Haram, is freed.
“We commend the gallant efforts of the Multi-national Joint Task Force and the partners in supporting the reintegration of the(Chibok and Dapchi) girls.”
Leah was one of the 109 schoolgirls kidnapped by terrorists in February 2018 from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi.
Five of the girls died in captivity while the rest were freed, except Leah, who allegedly refused to denounce her Christian faith and convert to Islam.
