I Still Grieve For Chibok Girls, Friends Who Lost Loved Ones To Terrorism, Banditry –Buhari
In the last eight years of Buhari’s administration, terrorists and bandits ran riot, especially in northern Nigeria, where they killed and kidnapped people at will.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday said he still grieves for children held captive by terrorists and bandits and mourns with parents and loved ones for the ones already lost.
The outgoing Nigerian leader said this in his farewell broadcast.
Buhari is scheduled to hand over power on Monday, May 29, 2023, to Bola Tinubu, who was declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election.
In the last eight years of Buhari’s administration, terrorists and bandits ran riot, especially in northern Nigeria, where they killed and kidnapped people at will.
During electioneering ahead of the 2015 general elections, Buhari vehemently campaigned to curb insecurity and bring back Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped during the administration of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan.
Buhari said, “Our battle to ensure that all Nigerians live in a safe and secure environment has achieved considerable results. As I complete my term in office, we have been able to reduce the incidences of banditry, terrorism, armed robbery and other criminal activities considerably.
“To sustain the gains made so far, I call on all Nigerians to be more vigilant and support the security agencies by ensuring that our values defined by being your brothers’ keeper govern our actions.”
Regretting that some schoolchildren were still being held captive by terrorists, he said, “Up till now, I still grieve for our children still in captivity, mourn with parents, friends and relatives of all those that lost loved ones in the days of the senseless brigandage and carnage. For all those under unlawful captivity, our Security Agencies are working round the clock to secure their release unharmed.”
One of the most daring attacks by terrorists was carried out on the night of April 14-15, 2014, when 276 mostly Christian female students aged between 16 and 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria.
About 60 of the schoolgirls escaped immediately following the incident by jumping out from the trucks on which they were being transported, while some others have been rescued by the military.
The incident made #BringBackOurGirls trend globally with many calling on the Nigerian government to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped school girls.
On April 14, 2023, nine years after the attack, a global advocacy group, Amnesty International lamented that President Muhammadu Buhari-led government had failed to rescue 98 of the girls still languishing in the terrorists’ den.
Amnesty International faulted the fact that since the abduction of the Chibok school girls, a slew of abductions of Nigerian children by terrorists and bandits had continued to take place, “revealing the utter failure of the Nigerian authorities to learn from the heartbreak of Chibok and, ultimately, to protect children.”
The organisation pointed out that more than 61 children were still being held in captivity two years after they were abducted by gunmen, adding that it showed lack of accountability for crimes against children which emboldens impunity by crime perpetrators.
