Buhari seeks collective effort in fight against insurgency, criminality

Says govt negotiating release of remaining victims

President Muhammadu Buhari has called for collective effort ‎to curtail the menace of insurgency and all forms of criminality to ensure that no part of the country was held to ransom by terrorists under his watch.

President Buhari spoke yesterday in his message on the third anniversary of the abduction of schoolgirls from Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State.

He said that Nigeria and indeed the entire world must recognise that terrorism has no borders and remains a growing concern which calls for collective efforts to tame just as he called on all Nigerians to remain vigilant and report any suspicious elements or groups to security agencies.

His words: “We cannot afford to let down our guards. Under my watch, no group will hold the country to ransom.‎As a parent, I am eternally grateful to God that some of the girls were found alive and have been reunited with their families.

“Government is doing all within its powers to reintegrate the freed girls to normal life. Furthermore, government is in constant touch through negotiations, through local intelligence to secure the release of the remaining girls and other abducted persons unharmed”.

He further said that the federal government was willing to bend over backwards to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls, adding: “We have reached out to their captors through local and international intermediaries, and we are ever ready to do everything within our means to ensure the safe release of all the girls.”

He thanked countries of Lake Chad Basin and international partners who had offered their support for Nigeria as well as parents and families that have endured three years of agony while wailing for the return of their children.

“I feel what you feel. Your children are my children. On this solemn occasion, my appeal is that we must not lose hope on the return of our remaining schoolgirls,” he said.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday that the use of kidnapped children as suicide bombers by the Boko Haram insurgents has increased this year.

The militants have killed more than 20,000 people and displaced more than two million during their insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in northeast Nigeria.

But President Buhari restated that government was negotiating with their captors through local and international intermediaries to secure the release of the remaining abducted girls.

No fewer than 50 of the girls escaped from their captors while 24 were released after negotiation by the government with the aid of International Red Cross and Swedish government.