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More than 100 Nigerian schoolgirls have been returned to their families safely, after being held captive for almost five weeks by Boko Haram, the jihadist group which had abducted the girls from their boarding school in Dapchi back in February.
According to BBC News, after their release from captivity and a brief emotional meeting with their parents, the schoolgirls were flown to the capital to meet the president.
The girls—warned by Boko Haram not to return to school—were then escorted back to Dapchi by Nigerian soldiers.
As well as meeting President Muhammadu Buhari, the newly-released girls underwent medical and security screenings.
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A Joyful Reunion
According to BBC News, The girls arrived in Dapchi aboard a convoy of five buses at about 13:30 GMT. Their parents were already waiting expectantly when they arrived. There was joy and jubilation as they jumped into their parents’ embraces.
The newly-released school girls had spent three days with the Nigerian authorities after being released by Boko Haram last week.
Not A Happy Ending For All Of The Girls
Approximately 110 girls were kidnapped. Unfortunately five did not survive the 5-week ordeal. Boko Haram is still holding one girl hostage, a Christian who refuses to convert to Islam.
The government has said, in a statement given to BBC News by the Nigerian, “The Buhari administration will not relent in efforts to bring [her] safely back home to her parents.”
It appears that Boko Haram was not paid a ransom to free the girls. Information Minister Lai Mohammad told the BBC that their return was part of ongoing talks about an amnesty in return for a ceasefire.
Boko Haram’s History of Abduction
Back in February 2015, The Boko Haram extremist group kidnapped more than 270 girls from a boarding school in Chibok, about 170 miles southeast of Dapchi sparking worldwide outrage and the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag.
The Boko Haram extremist group sees the mass kidnapping as a shining symbol of success, and has abducted hundreds of other girls, boys and women.
The kidnappings reflect the growing ambition and brazenness of Boko Haram, which seeks to impose an Islamic state across Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. Some 10,000 people have died in the Islamic uprising over the past year, compared to 2,000 in the previous four years, according to the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations.
“It’s devastating,” said Bukky Shonibare, an activist in Abuja, of the kidnappings. “It makes you wonder, what is being done?”
With the continuation of these abductions one must ask ‘what is being done to end this madness’?
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