Following the release of 82 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram insurgents, a member of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) and the Vice Chair, Board of Trustees, International Crisis Centre, Mrs. Ayo Obe, has called on the federal government to do all within its powers to free the remaining 113 girls still being held by the insurgents.
But Obe said until the remaining 113 are freed, the minds of Nigerians will not be at rest, adding that all the girls should be accounted for and brought back alive.
Speaking on Arise Television last night, she said: “Even though there are reports that some of the girls are unwilling to come along with the 82 freed girls because they may have been radicalised, the government should not be discouraged. It should rather do its best to recover them. When they have been recovered, deradicalised and no longer under coercion, that’s only when they can be judged by their action.
“For now, they all should be freed and reunited with their families. Government owes its citizens a duty of security. It is government’s duty to free the girls. Though we have passed the half way mark. What we need to understand is there are still 113 unaccounted Chibok girls out there,†she added.
She said government should do its best to see that the 82 freed girls were given full rehabilitation so that they can be reintegrated into the society.
When asked by if she was concerned that Boko Haram commanders were being released in exchange of the freed Chibok girls, Obe said: “I think for now, let us put ourselves in the shoes of the parents of the kidnapped girls. Having known what the terrorists are capable of doing, I would rather the girls are released irrespective. We haven’t been able to free them by military might, so this poses a viable alternative.
She also called on the government and stakeholders to provide security in both public and private schools.
