April 14, 2023
For Immediate Release:
BEING THE TEXT OF THE ADDRESS BY THE KIBAKU AREA DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (KADA) THE CHIBOK COMMUNITY ABUJA THIS FRIDAY 14 APRIL, 2023, AT UNITY FOUNTAIN ABUJA, IN COMMEMORATION OF NINE (9) YEARS OF THE ABDUCTION OF THE CHIBOK SCHOOLGIRLS
Introduction
Today, 14 April 2023, marks exactly nine (9) years since 276 schoolgirls of Government Secondary School, Chibok were abducted in their school on the night of 14-15 April 2014; 57 escaped, 219 Chibok girls were missing for years until Amina Ali Nkeki escaped and was found on 17 May 2018, 25 months and 3 days after the abduction. As of today, 126 Chibok girls are back, 92 of them remain missing for exactly 3,285 days today. Within this time up to 20 parents of our missing girls have passed on mostly from heart conditions due to the trauma they suffered, and some from terrorist attacks.
The Role of the Borno State Government
Fourteen (14) Chibok girls formerly in captivity who are now back (ranging from 6 to 18 months) are now in the custody of Borno State Government. Their families and community are completely in the dark about the rationale of their being in custody even though back from captivity, as there is no communication about their schooling or whatever plans Borno State Government has in mind. This raises questions about their fate and well-being.
An Assessment of the President Muhammadu Buhari Regime
- In his first inauguration speech on May 29, 2015 President Buhari clearly stated that ‘But we cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and other innocent persons held by the insurgents.’
- Weeks later, on 8 July 2015, during a meeting with the Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), parents of the missing Chibok girls, and the #BringBackOurgirls movement at the State House, Abuja apart from prioritising the rescue of our Chibok girls and ending the insurgency, President Buhari said, ‘And I thank the leader of the Chibok community for the articulated priorities he has drawn about the welfare of the families, of the communities and rehabilitation of infrastructure. I think government should provide these infrastructure as a matter of right.’
- On 24 December 2015, President Buhari declared that Nigeria had ‘technically won the war’ against the terrorists; this, without the return of one single Chibok girl or others in captivity as promised in his inauguration speech.
- Two weeks later, on 14 January 2016, during a meeting with the Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), parents of the missing Chibok girls, and the #BringBackOurgirls movement at the State House, following complaints by the parents of being in the dark, and the controversy of the report of the General Sabi fact-finding committee which was never made public, and the concerns expressed that the investigation was neither thorough, transparent nor inclusive, leaving more questions than answers. President Buhari on that day set up a 5-man committee to reinvestigate the circumstances of the abduction, as well as the actions or inactions by particular persons that led to the abduction and failure to rescue our girls. The committee was to be headed by the national security adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno.
‘I assure you that I go to bed and wake up every day with the Chibok girls in my mind.’ ‘Securing [the return of] the Chibok girls is my responsibility.’ And ‘God knows I have done my best and will continue to do my best’, were some of the things he said. The investigation committee was never inaugurated, never took off, never met once, to this day.
- On 19 February 2018, 110 schoolgirls of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi were abducted by the terrorists. Five of them did not survive the attack, all of the surviving 105 of them eventually returned except Leah Sharibu, who at the was a14-year-old girl going to 15. We were told she was not released on account of her refusal to denounce her faith, and remains in captivity to this day. The circumstances of the Dapchi abduction bear a striking similarity with that of our Chibok girls, indicating that no lessons were learnt from the Chibok abductions, and even when promises were made to critically assess to draw lessons to forestall any reoccurrence, this was never done. Leah Sharibu, as our Chibok girls, seems forgotten and allowed to remain with the terrorists with no word to their parents, in the same manner as our Chibok girls.
Our Appeal
Our appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari as he leaves office in another 6 week is to remember that he made promises that are yet to be fully fulfilled. There are 92 Chibok girls still in captivity whom he made a promise about. There are 14 Chibok girls who are back but held in custody with no information about them or any head way. There is Leah Sharibu who is still in captivity to this day. We are also very concerned about the seemingly rising confidence of the terrorists who recently shared images of their newly trained recruits.
Thank you.
Signed for and on behalf of KADA Abuja by:
NKEKI MUTAH
Chairman
#BringBackOurGirls | #9YearsTooLong | #UntilAllAreFree | #HopeEndures