THEon April 14, 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped by Nigerian Boko Haram terrorists of Chibok School, Borno State. After nine years, 98 of them never went home.
Boko Haram, 98 female students still in their hands
TO part of the 25 girls who managed to escape to their captors on the day of the attack, in fact, none were released until 2017 when the Nigerian federal government facilitated the release of 21 young people thanks to a negotiation mediated by the International Red Cross.
Following in 2017, another 82 were released by the armed group. Then nothing else.
The Human Rights Movement fights not to forget those students and calls for serious action by the Nigerian government (Getty Images)
Endless violence and trauma
But despite their good fortune to be back home, most of them they suffered terrible abuse and came home traumatizedsomeone with children following the violence by the men of Boko Haram.
“The Nigerian government should not forget the remaining 98 girls. They should be saved. Every morning I wake up and remember the condition in which I left them. I cry, I feel sorry for them» says one of the repatriated girls told ad Amnesty International. «Nine years is too long a time to spend in such deplorable conditions. The government must keep its promise to save all girls.”
Amnesty International: accusations against the Nigerian government
The human rights movement fights so as not to forget those female students of whom nothing has been known for nine years: «The parents of those still held captive by Boko Haram, as well as other boys and girls kidnapped by the armed group, are living in a state of anguish, knowing that their sons and daughters are in the hands of ruthless individuals who subject their loved ones to appalling brutalitysaid Isa Sanusi, Acting Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
“The time has come for the Nigerian authorities to take serious action to counter individuals and armed groups such as Boko Haram – invokes Amensty – Nigeria has an obligation to take steps to protect all minors. The lack of accountability for these ruthless crimes is fueling impunity for them and all who have committed and are committing serious violations must be brought to justice».
The terror and anguish of the parents
The parents of the victims are terrified that the girls who refused to be “married” by Boko Haram are subjected to brutal treatment every day: «Our pain is infinite because 24 children arrived with 14 of the kidnapped girls. – said one of them speaking to Amnesty International – We have with us grandchildren whose fathers are unknown to us that we must feed, educate and care for in addition to the social rejection and stigma we are suffering. We are simply hopeless.”
In addition, parents always report that the Nigerian authorities have stopped communicating with them and have definitively abandoned them.
Boko Haram kidnappings continue
But the kidnappings are by no means over. Since February 2021, there have been repeated attacks on schools and religious institutes in some regions of northern Nigeria. Of the more than 780 boys and girls kidnapped for ransom, more than 61 have been in captivity for two years in the hands of armed groups. Many schools have been closed and remain closed precisely because of the growing lack of security.
“Nine years after the kidnapping, 98 of those girls are still in captivity. Since then, numerous other kidnappings have occurred, revealing – concludes Amnesty International – the total bankruptcy of the Nigerian authorities in learning from the pain caused by the Chibok episode and, ultimately, in protecting children”.
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