On Thursday, the Nigerian government announced that it had safely secured the release of 21 out of the over 200 girls abducted by the Boko Haram terrorist group at Chibok, Bornu state in April 2014. This news is a positive development to the biggest kidnap case in the history of the country in the view of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, and majority of Nigerians.
Amidst all the excitement over the return of some of the kidnapped girls; the Executive Chairman of CACOL, Comrade Debo Adeniran said that Nigerians are still looking ahead on what could be done to secure the safe return of the over 190 girls still in captivity.
“For us it is too early to throw a party but we are not oblivious to the meaning of this event and how much significance it has in restoring joy and hope to the parents and Nigerians that have had to mourn over the abduction of the girls for more than two years now. Also, we are commending the government for seeking help from other countries like the International Red Cross and the Swiss government to help negotiate the release of the 21 Chibok girls yesterday.”
“This is in recognition of the fact that the fight against terrorism is a global fight and it requires concerted efforts from all relevant authorities to reduce and eliminate the possibilities of this tragedy occurring again under any clime.”
Continuing Adeniran said, “it is also important to put into considering the experience the released girls had been forced to pass before now. The government must take responsibility for their rehabilitation by helping them to overcome the trauma they have been through.”
Mr. Adeniran went to praise the Nigerian Military, particularly the gallant troops whom he described as the real heroes in the successes achieved so far since the Boko Haram insurgents began their terrorist acts in the North Eastern part of the country.
“It’s actually a ‘bittersweet’ situation when we consider the fact that for over two years, because of the failure of government, the abducted girls were in custody and almost practically nothing was done concretely to rescue them. It even becomes more bitter when we witness how expedited the government acted on several occasions when high profile persons were the victims. An example is the recent kidnap of the wife of the Central Bank Governor. It took only a ‘twinkle of an eye’ for the VIP Nigerian to be released” He averred
“In Nigeria, kidnappings, abductions, rape and several criminal tendencies occur almost on daily basis in hundreds, but they do not get the deserved attention from government. We are asking that the government should also look into other reported cases of kidnaps and abductions with a view to treating them with the same determination with which it handles profile cases.”
Our commendation for government on the release is to encourage it to as soon as possible rescue the remaining Chibok girls, particularly in the face of the reality that the conspiracy theorists who tried to politicize the sad episode as a farce has been defeated. The government should thus not rest on its oars until the rest of the Chibok girls and all other victims of abduction and kidnap in captivity are rescued or released.”
“We hasten to warn the Federal government that whatever interventions it is going do in helping the released girls to recuperate and re-integrate back to the society must be devoid of sharp practices like the ones that have bedeviled the relief packages meant for Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs. We recall that the parents of girls rescued earlier protested publicly on how funds meant for their wards were either siphoned or ‘disappeared’ by unscrupulous officials. Such must be allowed to happen again! Mr. Adeniran concluded
Wale Salami
Media Coordinator, CACOL
08141121208
cacolc@yahoo.com,cacol@thehumanitycentre.org
October 14, 2016
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