Borno governor remembers Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction

From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri

Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has urged Nigerians to sustain prayers for the eventual release of Chibok schoolgirls and other persons in Boko Haram captivity.

Governor Zulum, in a message released through his spokesman, Isa Gusau, on Wednesday, to remember the seven years since the schoolgirls’ abduction, said he felt pained as a father having daughters like the abducted girls missing for 2,549 days.

‘As a father of daughters, I can’t even imagine the pain of having one’s daughter held by terrorists for as long as seven whole years,’ the governor said.

He noted the mental torture parents of the Chibok girls would be going through since since the abduction of their children.

He said no parent would ever lose hope in a missing child. He said such hope comes with much pain, including anxiety and depression.

‘Parents of Chibok schoolgirls have been devastated, yet they have demonstrated faith and strength in the hope of reconnecting with their missing daughters. They deserve our continued empathy, our compassion, our support and, most importantly, sharing their optimism,’ he said.

The governor called for more prayers and support to the military, other security agencies and vigilantes.

A total of 276 students, all teenage girls at the time, were kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists at the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, southern Borno. The abduction triggered both national and international outrage. Hope rose days later when 57 of the girls escaped from the insurgents’ captivity. Some were also freed months later, leaving roughly 210 girls still missing.