Buhari optimistic about return of schoolgirls in captivity

NIGERIAN President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday expressed his
optimism about the prospects for the release of remaining Chibok school girls in captivity of Boko Haram. The president renewed the pledge on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the abduction of the Chibok girls, according to an official statement.

About 210 school girls of government secondary school in Chibok of Borno State were kidnapped on April 14, 2014, with 107 of them later released following successful negotiations between the government and the abductors.

Buhari promised the parents of the kidnapped girls at the beginning of his first presidential term in 2015 that he would ensure their daughters’ return.
The president acknowledged that it was this promise that made the people of Chibok vote for him overwhelmingly in the February presidential election, in which he was re-elected.

He said though his government had so far succeeded in securing the release of 107 of the girls, it will not rest until all of them are reunited with their families, assuring parents that
his administration is still on the matter. —Xinhua