10years Later, Kidnapped 21 Released Chibok Girls Return With 34 Children — MMF

Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF) has said that 10 years after the abduction of 276 girls from Chibok Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, 21 of the affected abductees so far released came with 34 children.

MMF gave this damning report in a release made available to newsmen at the weekend, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the abduction, confirming the devasting sexual violence and coerced marriages the girls endured while in captivity.

Besides, the report hinted that 48 parents of the abducted victims had died since the girls were kidnapped, with widespread psychological trauma for survivors and their families, leading to health issues and barriers to work and education, even as it added that 91 out of the 276 schoolgirls remained unaccounted for.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the MMF, Dr Aisha Muhammad-Oyebode, in the virtual presentation of the report, stated that the Foundation, given Nigeria’s k+dnapping epidemic showing no signs of showing down, had set out 10 key recommendations that urged the Nigerian government and the international community to collaborate by taking concrete steps to address the underlying drivers of conflict, extremism, and violence against women and girls, among others.

According to her, these include enhanced security measures, community empowerment programmes, psychological support services in danger zones, education initiatives, legal reforms, transparent communication, humanitarian aid and development assistance, women’s empowerment programmes, and early warning systems for security threats.

“In the ten years since the Chibok kidnapping caused global outrage, very little has changed on the ground in Nigeria where kidnapping is still as prevalent, if not worse than a decade ago.