United Nations urges Nigerians not to shun Chibok girls

Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, on Wednesday visited the 82 Chibok girls that were released by the Boko Haram sect.

Garba Shehu said that originally they had been negotiating the release of 83 girls, but one said she wanted to remain.

The government has released the names of those who were freed and families are travelling to the federal capital of Abuja to reunite with the girls.

(AP Photo/ Sunday Alamba).

The statement said the newly-released girls would also be part of a similar rehabilitation programme that was set-up by the agency for the 21 Chibok girls who were released in October 2016.

Recall that the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the main opposition party had criticised the swap deal that led to Boko Haram’s release of 82 Chibok girls while some imprisoned members of the sect were released by the Nigerian government.

The mass abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls from a boarding school three years ago brought world attention to Boko Haram’s deadly rampage in northern Nigeria.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

“From what we know of other young women who’ve returned, the relationships with their captors is very complex and at times quite ambiguous”, she told AFP in an email exchange.

President Buhari delayed a previously scheduled trip to London for medical treatment to meet with the girls in Abuja Sunday.

The militant group has also kidnapped thousands of other people during their insurgency in the region. “As a negotiator, we are aware that there information on Boko Haram that he must find sensitive and not divulge but why will he release such a sensitive information, concerning the girls”.

He said, “The large number of persons present at this rally today is proof that we are all elated at the joy of freedom for the latest batch of Chibok Girls to be freed from captivity”.

He urged the government to help the families of the girls to nurture them, for their proper reintegration into the society.

Ms Alhassan said they were still working with parents to identity the 82 girls released on Saturday.

Dozens of the kidnapped Chibok girls have been returned.

Sarah’s parents say they will hug her like a baby when they see her again. This exposes the girls to unnecessary scrutiny and possible stigma, and violates the basic rights of survivors of the type of violence and abuse by Boko Haram to anonymity. No one deserves to remain with those killers one minute longer than necessary.