…demand investigation of Chibok girls education fund
Parents of the 276 students of the Government Science Secondary School abducted from their hostels by Boko Haram insurgents in April 2024 have ordered the Borno state government to reverse and apologise for referring to some rescued girls as wives to repentant insurgents in an illegal cohabitation at a rehabilitation center in Maiduguri, Borno state or risk legal action.
The parents described the camping of the returnee abducted girls who were being rehabilitated in Maiduguri by the state government as a ‘second abduction’, saying neither the consent of the girls nor their parents’ was sought before while grouping with their abductors in a rehabilitation center.
The parents spoke under the aegis of the Kibaku (Chibok) Area Development Association (KADA) in Abuja at the 10th-year commemoration of the abduction of the girls, where they knocked the government of Borno state over its insensitivity to the plight of the girls, their parents and their community.
Since the abduction of the girls in 2014, 194 have been rescued while 82 are still missing and unaccounted for.
Within this time, according to the President of the association, Dauda Iliya, 48 parents have lost their lives mostly due to heart conditions while three parents were killed in subsequent Boko Haram attacks.
Iliya said the government of Prof. Babagana Zulum must provide answers to some pertinent questions regarding the treatment of the rescued girls and their parents.
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He said: “Within this time also, as a community, we have faced series of attacks and have been victims of vitriolic campaigns aimed at dissuading us from pursuing the cause of our daughters and their welfare, coupled with broken promises from both the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Government of Borno State.
“Even our daughters that escaped within the last three years, until very recently, have been secretly kept in a so-called ‘transit camp’ in Maiduguri along with the Boko Haram terrorists.
“Following the persistence and insistence by some of the parents to see their returnee daughters, the government of Borno State under the leadership of Prof Zulum; the Kibaku community hereby seeks answers to the following questions from the BOSG as a matter of urgency.
“Under what guise and by what legal authority did the BOSG continue the illegal and obnoxious “marriages” between our returnee girls and the so-called “repentant terrorists”?
“Are the girls currently residing in Maiduguri housed with repentant Boko Haram members, or are they housed separately?
“Do the girls have the freedom to return to Chibok whenever they wish, or are there any restrictions on their movement?
“What is the rationale for keeping the girls in Maiduguri rather than allowing them to return to their families in Chibok or to any place of their choice for that matter?
“What activities and support systems are available to the girls while in Maiduguri?”
Given this, among others, besides the rebuttal and apology and a threat of legal action against the Borno state government for failure to comply, the parents demanded the specialised education fund for the Chibok girls domiciled at the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs should be investigated immediately.
In addition, they also demanded an investigation of other sources of funding for the girls’ scholarships without details and others because some of the girls are getting calls from abroad from families that are said to be their sponsors.
“We also want to know who these sponsors are for the Kibaku community to document and appreciate them appropriately.
“Urgent release of the rescued Chibok girls in the custody of Borno state government to their families and not to any terrorist that was in the first place their abductors. The girl’s consent and that of their parents/guardians were not sought before they were abducted, as such their consent must not be sought before delivering them to their parents and their communities
“Avail all our rescued daughters, at home and in school for any organization or group that wants to support them. Anyone that needs to talk to the media, where ever they are must be allowed access always without let or hindrance
“Immediate disclosure of all the names of the daughters reported to be dead as witnessed and established by their classmates and friends while in captivity.
“Two of the parents have since gotten the news of the passing of their daughters and have brought a closure on their own. The parents and the community leadership want this position taken immediately rather than the endless and hopeless waiting”, Iliya said.
The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOGs) movement described governemnts position as a ‘decade of shame’ also demanded that the Chibok Girls Parents Association should be the only recognized voice for the cause of the girls for transparency and accountability.
The group also backed KADA’s demand that the Government Science Secondary School, Chibok be converted into a Unity school with all the facilities provided for conducive academic activities.
Similarly, the BBOGs also said that the report of the Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Sabo (rtd) headed presidential committee on Chibok school girls be made public.
Former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili asked of what use is the Panel and its report, 10 years after, if the findings and recommendations are not revealed and implemented.
She said the importance of the work of the panel cannot be over-emphasized considering that it took the Panel to make the government believe that the abduction was real.
The BBOGs said in line with world best practices, the Federal government should work on disclosure, accountability and closure of the Chibok girls’ issue.
“That’s what we demand”, Ezekwesili said.
