Chibok Kidnapping Victim Found, Two Years and One Baby Later

Merwen · May 18, 2016

She is now in detention with her soldier "husband" and baby, and reports most of the kidnapped remain in the area, except for six that have already died.

Isn't it wonderful, what a priority the Nigerian government has made to rescue these girls before permanent harm befalls them. [sarcasm]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36321249

waltky · May 20, 2016

Second Chibok girl found - Nigeria army...

Chibok girls: Second schoolgirl rescued - Nigerian army
Fri, 20 May 2016 - A second of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in the Nigerian town of Chibok by Boko Haram militants two years ago has been found, the army says

Spokesman Col Sani Usman said Serah Luka was among 97 women and children rescued by troops in operations in the north-eastern Borno State. This comes two days after the rescue of the first Chibok girl, Amina Ali Nkeki. In all, 217 girls remain missing after their abduction by the Boko Haram Islamist group from a secondary school in north-eastern Nigeria in 2014. In a statement on Thursday, Col Usman said: "We are glad to state that among those rescued is a girl believed to be one of the Chibok Government (Girls) Secondary School girls that were abducted on 14 April 2014 by the Boko Haram terrorists." "Her name is Miss Serah Luka, who is number 157 on the list of the abducted school girls. She is believed to be the daughter of Pastor Luka. "During the operations, the troops killed 35 Boko Haram terrorists and recovered several arms and ammunitions and other items. In addition, they rescued 97 women and children held captives by the Boko Haram terrorists."

Col Usman said the army operations were carried out in the Demboa area of Borno. Earlier on Thursday, the first Chibok girl found, Amina, 19, was flown to the capital Abuja to meet President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Buhari said he was delighted she was back and could resume her education. "But my feelings are tinged with deep sadness at the horrors the young girl has had to go through at such an early stage in her life," he added. Amina and her four-month-old baby were found by an army-backed vigilante group in the huge Sambisa Forest, close to the border with Cameroon. She was with a suspected member of the Boko Haram Islamist group. During the April 2014 attack, Boko Haram gunmen arrived in Chibok at night and raided the school dormitories, loading 276 girls onto trucks.

The second Chibok girl, who the army said was rescued on Thursday

More than 50 managed to escape within hours, mostly by jumping off the lorries and running into roadside bushes. A video broadcast by CNN in April this year appeared to show some of the kidnapped schoolgirls alive. Fifteen girls in black robes were pictured. They said they were being treated well but wanted to be with their families. The video was allegedly shot on Christmas Day 2015 and some of the girls were identified by their parents. The Chibok schoolgirls, many of whom are Christian, had previously not been seen since May 2014, when Boko Haram released a video of about 130 of them gathered together reciting the Koran.

The abduction led to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, which was supported by US First Lady Michelle Obama and Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai. Another campaign group working for the girls' release, the Pathfinders Justice Initiative, said there was a "renewed sense of energy and hope and excitement" among families of the girls after Ms Nkeki's escape. Executive director Evon Idahosa told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme that there was now "no excuse" for the Nigerian government not to step up efforts to free the remaining captives. "They [the families] are excited but they have also been disappointed so much in the past, particularly during the Jonathan administration [from 2010-2015]."

Boko Haram at a glance:
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Merwen · May 20, 2016

waltky said: ↑

Second Chibok girl found - Nigeria army...

Chibok girls: Second schoolgirl rescued - Nigerian army
Fri, 20 May 2016 - A second of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in the Nigerian town of Chibok by Boko Haram militants two years ago has been found, the army says
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I wonder how much the US really did to help find those girls.

Merwen · May 21, 2016

Merwen said: ↑

I wonder how much the US really did to help find those girls.
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Amazing lack of response.

waltky · Jun 23, 2016

Rescued missing Chibok schoolgirl missing again, what gives?...

Family demands news of Chibok girl who escaped Boko Haram
Jun 23,`16 -- Nigeria's Bring Back Our Girls movement and family members are demanding that the government provide news of the only schoolgirl among 219 kidnapped to escape the clutches of Boko Haram Islamic extremists.

"Even this morning people came to my house asking if I had been able to find out her whereabouts. It's outrageous! Some people are crying! We don't understand why the government wants to keep her family away," Yakubu Nkeki, an uncle of Amina Ali Nkeki, told The Associated Press by telephone on Thursday. In a statement Wednesday night marking the 800th day of the mass abduction that outraged the world, Bring Back Our Girls also asked what the government is doing to try to rescue the other girls. Hunters found Ali on May 17, wandering on the fringes of Boko Haram's Sambisa Forest stronghold with her 4-month-old baby and the father of the child, a Boko Haram fighter who she said helped her escape. Ali was flown to the capital, Abuja, two days after her escape for a televised meeting at which President Muhammadu Buhari promised her the best care and rehabilitation.

The Bring Back Our Girls movement says no one has seen her since, not even leaders of the Chibok community where the girls were kidnapped. It says Ali has said some of the girls have died but most are alive, raising hopes they could still be rescued. "It is now more than one month since Ms. Ali was rescued and her avowed restoration process by the federal government as pledged by the president began. Having given a reasonable length of time, our movement has a number of concerns regarding Amina Ali as well as the rest of our Chibok girls still in the terrorist enclave," said the statement signed by the movement's founders Aisha Yesufu and Oby Ezekwesili. Government and military officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Amina Ali, the rescue Chibok school girl, sits during a meeting with Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential palace in Abuja, Nigeria. Nigeria's Bring Back Our Girls movement demanded Wednesday, June. 22, 2016 that the government provide news of the only one of 219 kidnapped schoolgirls to escape the clutches of the Boko Haram extremist group.

It had been presumed that Ali would be debriefed by state security agents for information that could lead to a rescue operation, and that she would receive psychosocial care. Nigeria's military has freed thousands of Boko Haram captives this year, but none of the girls kidnapped from a remote boarding school in the northeastern town of Chibok in April 2014. The Associated Press has been unable to establish the whereabouts of some other freed Boko Haram captives taken for alleged debriefing and counseling by the office of the National Security Adviser.

Ali's uncle said the last time he saw her and her mother, Binta Nkeki, along with baby Safiyah was in the office of the National Security Adviser at the presidential villa on May 19. "We have had no credible information since, though I am told they are in the hands of the government," he said. Bring Back Our Girls also demanded the government prosecute the father of Ali's child, Mohammed Hayyatu, for abduction and rape. The military has said he appeared to be a Boko Haram commander and was being held for interrogation. "We are extremely disappointed with the evident lull in rescue actions and lack of any progress report," the movement said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-06-23-09-04-32
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See also:

Nigeria Boko Haram: Scores of refugees starved to death - MSF
Thu, 23 Jun 2016 - Nearly 200 people fleeing Boko Haram militants have died of starvation in the Nigerian city of Bama in the past month, medical charity MSF says.

A "catastrophic humanitarian emergency" is unfolding at a camp it visited where 24,000 people have taken refuge. Many inhabitants are traumatised and one in five children is suffering from acute malnutrition, MSF says. The Islamist group's seven-year rebellion has left 20,000 people dead and more than two million displaced. Nigeria's military has carried out a large-scale offensive against them but Boko Haram still attacks villages in the north-east, destroying homes and burning down wells. Displaced people in Bama say new graves are appearing on a daily basis, according to a statement from MSF.

It quoted inhabitants as saying about 30 people died every day due to hunger or illness. Although the area has been unsafe to travel through, MSF says one of its teams reached Bama on Tuesday. It went in with a military convoy from the city of Maiduguri in Borno state. "This is the first time MSF has been able to access Bama, but we already know the needs of the people there are beyond critical," said Ghada Hatim, MSF head of mission in Nigeria. "We are treating malnourished children in medical facilities in Maiduguri and see the trauma on the faces of our patients who have witnessed and survived many horrors," he said.

Children in Bama in Nigeria

Boko Haram at a glance:

* Founded in 2002, initially focused on opposing Western-style education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
* Launched military operations in 2009
* Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria, hundreds abducted, including at least 200 schoolgirls
* Joined so-called Islamic State, now calls itself IS's "West African province"
* Seized large area in north-east, where it declared caliphate
* Regional force has retaken most territory last year

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-36603419
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waltky · Jul 3, 2016

Two years of captivity...

Chibok girl's life with Boko Haram in Nigeria
Sat, 02 Jul 2016 - The first rescued Chibok girl, who went on to meet Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, has not been seen by her relatives since telling of her ordeal at the hands of Boko Haram.

A month ago, the first of a group of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok was freed in north-eastern Nigeria after two years in the hands of Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The girl gained widespread coverage when she was taken to meet President Muhammadu Buhari. Her brother, who was overwhelmed to be reunited with his sister, was told to return home by state officials during the visit and says he now has no idea of the whereabouts of her or their mother, who accompanied them. Yakubu Nkeki, a spokesman for the parents of the missing Chibok schoolgirls, and a close friend of the girl, says he has known her since childhood and he too hasn't had contact with her since her visit to meet the president. He told the BBC how, after she was first released, they sat together for hours and she recounted her ordeal from the very beginning.

The first rescued Chibok girl with her child, meeting President Buhari

Kidnap

While describing how she was taken from her school in Chibok town, she laughed, something Mr Nkeki says he found very out of place. "After they were taken from the school," he tells me, "they were put in one place as a large group but after a few weeks they were taken further into the Sambisa Forest. There, some of the larger girls were forced to marry the militants, but at that time she was not given up for marriage because she was seen as a small girl." She was terrified at the thought of being forced to marry someone she did not know or love but she was also relieved that she had been spared. She spoke of the many military airstrikes on the Boko Haram fighters which meant the group had to move around often to avoid detection. The girls were then split into smaller groups and moved to different locations.

'Marriage'

She was in a group of about six girls, and they were taken to a big building surrounded by a large fence without an entrance. "They had to climb over with a ladder to get in but once in they had no way of getting out again," Mr Nkeki said. "By this time, the girls had been mixed up with other girls who had been captured. They could not understand each other because they all spoke different languages." She said that after about six months in the building, her worst fears came true when she was forced to marry one of the Boko Haram militants. The man told her that he had also been abducted from the town of Mubi and fored to become a fighter. The building didn't have any food in it apart from a large bag of maize which they soaked in water and then ate raw. Later they found a large stone which they used to grind the maize and for vegetables, they opted for leaves from the trees.

Prayers
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Merwen · Jul 4, 2016

waltky said: ↑

Two years of captivity...

Chibok girl's life with Boko Haram in Nigeria
Sat, 02 Jul 2016 - The first rescued Chibok girl, who went on to meet Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, has not been seen by her relatives since telling of her ordeal at the hands of Boko Haram.
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The Nigerian government does not appear to be very motivated to rescue the victims of Boca Haram, does it?

waltky · Sep 23, 2016

Nigeria asks UN to help free abducted Chibok Girls...

Nigerian leader asks UN to help free abducted Chibok Girls
Friday 23rd September, 2016 - Nigeria's president Muhammadu Buhari has invited the United Nations to help negotiations to swap the kidnapped schoolgirls from Chibok for detained leaders of Boko Haram, a government statement said on Thursday.

Buhari's government has been criticised for failing to free the Chibok girls by parents of the abducted students, community leaders and human rights activists. Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of people but the mass abduction of 276 schoolgirls in April 2014 incited outrage around the world and brought international condemnation of Nigeria's home-grown Islamic extremist group. Dozens of the girls escaped on their own within hours, but 217 remain missing.

Buhari's request for UN intermediaries is a "show of commitment" made to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, said a statement from presidential adviser Femi Adesina.

Leadership struggle

Buhari told Ban that his government is "willing to bend over backwards" to win the girls' freedom but finding credible Boko Haram leaders for the negotiations has been difficult, especially because of the current leadership struggle among the militants. Longtime Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau's faction in August posted a video showing about 50 Chibok girls and offering a prisoner swap. An unidentified fighter in the video suggests the government deal with a journalist trusted by the militants. That was an apparent reference to Dubai-based Nigerian journalist Ahmad Salkida, who was subsequently detained by Nigerian intelligence agents, and then released. He was accused of knowing the whereabouts of the girls - which he denied.

Last week, Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the government had nearly secured the girls' release three times but negotiations collapsed. Most girls kidnapped by Boko Haram have been forced to marry fighters and are pregnant or have babies, according to some of the thousands freed in the past year as the military has recaptured territory.

http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/...er-asks-un-to-help-free-abducted-chibok-girls
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waltky · Oct 13, 2016

21 Chibok schoolgirls recovered...

Nigeria says 21 abducted Chibok schoolgirls freed in swap
Oct 13,`16 -- Twenty-one of Nigeria's Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram more than two years ago have been freed in a swap for detained leaders of the Islamic extremist group, the government and military said Thursday.

Some 197 girls remain captive, though it is not known how many of them may have died. The freed girls, the first to be released as a result of government action, are in the custody of the Department of State Services, Nigeria's secret intelligence agency, according to presidential spokesman Garba Shehu. Their release was negotiated between the government and Boko Haram in talks brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss government, he said. Negotiations will continue for the release of the other students, he said.

A military officer familiar with the talks said four detained Boko Haram leaders were released Wednesday night in Banki, a town on the northeast border with Cameroon. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press on the matter. The girls were flown by helicopter to Maiduguri, the northeastern capital of Borno state and birthplace of Boko Haram, he said. "We are extremely delighted and grateful," the Bring Back Our Girls movement said on Facebook. The group, which has campaigned within Nigeria and internationally for the release of the students, said it awaits the names of the released girls. "We thank the federal government and, like Oliver Twist, we ask for more," said Professor Hauwa Biu, a woman activist in Maiduguri.

Negotiations last year failed when Boko Haram demanded a ransom of $5.2 billion for the girls' freedom, according to a recently published authorized biography of President Muhammadu Buhari by American historian John Paden. It was not clear if any money changed hands in this swap. The abduction of 276 schoolgirls in April 2014 and the government's failure to quickly free them has caused international outrage and brought Boko Haram, Nigeria's home-grown Islamic extremist group, to the world's attention. Dozens of the girls escaped on their own, but most remain missing.

In May, one of the girls, Amina Ali Nkeki, escaped on her own. Shortly after her release Nkeki told her family that some of the kidnapped girls died of illness and that others, like her, have been married to fighters and are pregnant or already have babies, her mother told the press. Since then Nkeki has been in the custody of the secret service where she is receiving medical care and trauma counseling, according to the government. Buhari's government has been criticized for keeping her isolated. The Bring Back Our Girls group and Human Rights Watch have asked whether Nkeki now is a detainee of the government.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-10-13-07-29-41
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waltky · Oct 18, 2016

100+ kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls afraid to come home...

Chibok leader: 100-plus girls unwilling to leave Boko Haram
Oct 18,`16 -- Nigeria's government is negotiating the release of another 83 of the Chibok schoolgirls taken in a mass abduction two-and-a-half years ago, but more than 100 others appear unwilling to leave their Boko Haram Islamic extremist captors, a community leader said Tuesday.

The unwilling girls may have been radicalized by Boko Haram or are ashamed to return home because they were forced to marry extremists and have babies, chairman Pogu Bitrus of the Chibok Development Association told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Bitrus said the 21 Chibok girls freed last week in the first negotiated release between Nigeria's government and Boko Haram should be educated abroad, because they will probably face stigma in Nigeria. The girls and their parents were reunited Sunday and are expected to meet with Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday or Wednesday, Bitrus said. Buhari flew to Germany on an official visit the day of the girls' release.

Buhari said Monday that his government is prepared to talk with Boko Haram as long as the extremists agree to involve organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross, which was an intermediary in last week's release. Some 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a school in northeastern Chibok in April 2014. Dozens escaped early on and at least half a dozen have died in captivity, according to the newly freed girls, Bitrus said. All those who escaped on their own have left Chibok because, even though they were held only a few hours, they were labelled "Boko Haram wives" and taunted, he said. At least 20 of the girls are being educated in the United States. "We would prefer that they are taken away from the community and this country because the stigmatization is going to affect them for the rest of their lives," Bitrus said. "Even someone believed to have been abused by Boko Haram would be seen in a bad light."

Family members of the Nigerian Chibok kidnapped girls share a moment as they depart to the Nigerian minister of women affairs in Abuja, Nigeria, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. Nigeria's government is negotiating the release of another 83 of the Chibok schoolgirls taken in a mass abduction two-and-a-half years ago, but more than 100 others appear unwilling to leave their Boko Haram Islamic extremist captors, a community leader said Tuesday.

One Chibok girl, Amina Ali Nkeki, escaped in May. Chibok Parents' Association chairman Yakubu Nkeki said the young woman has been reunited with her freed classmates, all of whom are being treated by doctors, psychologists and trauma counsellors at a hospital in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, run by the Department of State Security, Nigeria's secret service. Human rights advocates and the Bring Back Our Girls Movement have been asking if the girl is a detainee of the government and have been demanding she be allowed to return home, as she has requested. One father of a newly freed girl, Emos Lawal, said his daughter was "praying that let the rest of them have the chance to come out."

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NMNeil · Oct 18, 2016

Merwen said: ↑

The Nigerian government does not appear to be very motivated to rescue the victims of Boca Haram, does it?
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The soldiers tasked with finding them were reluctant to take on Boko Haram, and the reason?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-17/nigeria-orders-criminal-probe-of-suspicious-defense-spending

Merwen · Oct 18, 2016

NMNeil said: ↑

The soldiers tasked with finding them were reluctant to take on Boko Haram, and the reason?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-17/nigeria-orders-criminal-probe-of-suspicious-defense-spending
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I wonder how much of that landed in the pockets of our elites.

NMNeil · Oct 19, 2016

Merwen said: ↑

I wonder how much of that landed in the pockets of our elites.
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Money was made

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/08/17/state-department-sought-land-deal-with-nigerian-firm-tied-to-clinton-foundation.html

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-clinton-donor-chagoury-20160828-snap-story.html

waltky · Nov 5, 2016

Another missing kidnapped Chibok schoolgirl found with baby...

Nigeria schoolgirl missing from Chibok 'found with baby'
Sat, 05 Nov 2016 - One of the Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram has been found with a baby, the military says.

The girl was discovered in Pulka in northern Borno state, spokesman Sani Usman said. The announcement came nearly a month after another 21 Chibok girls were freed after negotiations with Boko Haram Islamist militants. More than 270 schoolgirls were seized from the north-eastern town in April 2014, sparking international outrage.

Grab from Boko Haram video with faces of girls blurred

Mr Usman said the latest girl to be found was discovered by soldiers screening escapees from Boko Haram's base in the Sambisa forest. Boko Haram has been fighting a long insurgency in its quest for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. The conflict is estimated to have killed more than 30,000 people. Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of other people during its seven-year insurgency in northern Nigeria and many people have been made homeless.

The freeing of 21 girls in October came after talks mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss government. Until then, there had only been one confirmed release of a student kidnapped from Chibok - a 19-year-old woman found by an army-backed vigilante group. More than 50 managed to escape on the day they were captured. Officials have promised to find the remaining 200 still being held.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-37882614
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waltky · Dec 27, 2016

Granny says, "Well now, dat's rotten - dey won't let `em go home to see dey's mama...

Freed Chibok girls not allowed home for Christmas, say families
Tue, 27 Dec 2016 - Families of 21 Nigerian Chibok girls freed by Boko Haram say the girls are being closely guarded by authorities.

Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls in April 2014, but freed 21 of them in October after negotiations with the Red Cross. The freed girls have been in government custody since their release but were brought home to Chibok for Christmas. But family members told the BBC that the girls were kept in a politician's house and barred from going home. They were also prevented from attending church services with their families. The girls were take to the house of an assembly member in Chibok to be reunited with their parents but weren't allowed to go to their own homes. "I can't believe my daughter has come this close to home but can't come home," said one father. "There's no point bringing them to Chibok only to be locked in another prison. They couldn't even go to church on Christmas Day."

Governor Kashim Shettima receiving a 'thank you' gift from Glory Dama, on behalf of the 21 Chibok schoolgirls freed by Boko Haram

Another said a soldier had confiscated his phone when he tried to take a picture of his daughter. He said: "I snapped picture of myself and my daughter but the security guys came and grabbed me by shoulder and snatched the phone from my hands and told me to delete all the picture I took. "I told him I'm taking a picture with my daughter who was away for more than two years. He said to me that's not his business, he deleted all the pictures including other pictures that were not taken there." One mother said: "I can't believe my eyes that now my daughter cannot come home. How can I be happy when they don't have freedom?" A statement from the office of state governor Kashim Shettima acknowledged that "armed soldiers... escorted the 21 girls to Chibok and remain their strict guards throughout the Christmas".

Speaking earlier this week, one of the girls told Reuters news agency it was a "miracle" that she was home and she was looking forward to church on Christmas Day. "I never knew that I would return (home)," she said simply. "I had given up hope of ever going home." Of the 276 students kidnapped, 197 are still reportedly missing, and negotiations for their release are under way. Many of the Chibok girls were Christian, but were encouraged to convert to Islam and to marry their kidnappers during their time in captivity. Ms Goni said some were whipped for refusing to marry, but otherwise they were well treated and fed until food supplies recently ran short.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38445198
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waltky · Jan 5, 2017

Another missing Chibok schoolgirl found with child...

Nigeria finds Chibok girl kidnapped by Boko Haram, with baby
Jan 5,`17 -- Soldiers interrogating captured Boko Haram suspects have found one of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram nearly three years ago, along with her baby, Nigeria's military said Thursday.

Nearly 300 girls were kidnapped by the insurgents from a government boarding school in the remote northeastern town of Chibok in April 2014, a mass abduction that shocked the world and brought Boko Haram international attention. Most of the girls remain in captivity. In May, one girl escaped. In October, the government negotiated the release of 21 more. Another girl was freed in November in an army raid on an extremist camp in the Sambisa Forest. Army spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman identified the latest girl to be freed as Rakiya Abubakar and said she has a 6-month-old baby. He said her identity was discovered when soldiers were interrogating some of more than 1,000 suspects detained in recent weeks of army raids on the Sambisa Forest.

The military released a photograph showing Abubakar with mournful eyes, her head covered by a white scarf, and clutching the baby wearing a white beanie cap. A statement from Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari said her recovery "raises renewed hope that the other captured girls will one day be reunited with their families, friends and community." Similar optimism was expressed by the Bring Back Our Girls movement - spawned by the failures of the government of Buhari's predecessor. The government of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan initially claimed the mass abduction never happened and was a plot to discredit his administration. "We remain highly hopeful that the rest of our girls will be rescued and reunited with their families," the movement said in a statement, noting that Sunday will mark 1,000 days of captivity for the girls.

Nigeria's government announced that troops two weeks ago destroyed Boko Haram's last stronghold in the Sambisa Forest, and Buhari declared the extremist group was finally "crushed." That raised questions about the whereabouts of the other Chibok girls, believed held in the forest. Some 196 remained missing before Thursday's discovery, though some of the freed girls have said that several in their group have died from things like malaria and snakebite. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau issued a video last week to contradict Buhari's assertion that "the terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide." Shekau declared that the war was just starting and urged his fighters to keep killing, bombing and abducting people.

Nigeria's government has been criticized over its treatment of the freed girls, who have been sequestered in Abuja, the capital, allegedly for trauma counseling and rehabilitation. The freed girls insisted on being taken to Chibok for Christmas, but they were kept in the home of a local legislator and prevented from attending Christmas service at their EYN Church of the Brethren, supposedly for security reasons. They were not reunited with their parents until the day after Christmas. Chibok is a small Christian enclave following a branch of the U.S.-based Brethren in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria. Many parents of the girls are translating the Bible into local languages.

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waltky · Jan 11, 2017

It's been 1,000 days since Chibok schoolgirls were kidnapped...

Nigeria faces mounting pressure to rescue girls abducted by Boko Haram 1,000 days ago
January 11, 2017 - Nigeria is facing mounting pressure to find some 200 schoolgirls abducted 1,000 days ago in Boko Haram's most infamous attack after the rescue of 24 girls raised hopes that they are alive.

For more than two years there was no sign of the girls who were kidnapped by the Islamist fighters from a school in Chibok in northeast Nigeria one night in April 2014, sparking global outrage and a celebrity-backed campaign #bringbackourgirls. But the discovery of one of the girls with a baby last May fuelled hopes for their safety, with a further two girls found in later months and a group of 21 released in October in a deal brokered by Switzerland and the International Red Cross.

1 / 10
Police disrupt a rally by the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, which is protesting in Nigeria's capital Abuja to mark 1,000 days since over 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped from their secondary school in Chibok, Nigeria by Islamist sect Boko Haram

For parents like Rebecca Joseph the return home of the group of 21 girls at Christmas was a bitter-sweet celebration. Her daughter, Elizabeth, is one of an estimated 195 girls still held captive by the jihadist group, which has tried to force some of them to convert to Islam and to marry their captors. "I am happy that some of the girls are returning home even though my own daughter is not among them," Joseph told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in the town of Chibok in Borno state. "My prayer is that my daughter and the rest of the girls will be rescued and returned to their families safe."

With last weekend marking 1,000 days since the girls were abducted, President Muhammadu Buhari said he remained committed to ensuring the abducted schoolgirls are reunited with their families "as soon as practicable". "We are hopeful that many more will still return," said Buhari, who came to power in 2015 and replaced a government criticised for not doing enough to find the missing girls. "The tears never dry, the ache is in our hearts," he said in a statement.

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