Chibok girls: Release of 21 girls shows Buhari’s sincerity, says Shettima

The release of twenty-one Chibok girls by Boko Haram was an indication of President Muhammadu Buhari’s sincerity towards ensuring that the abducted girls are reunited with their families, the governor of Borno State, which was the epicentre of the group’s campaign of terror.

The twenty-one girls were released on Thursday after a negotiation brokered by International Red Cross and the Swiss Government.

“‎One of our major sources of strength since May 29, 2015, has been the undiluted sincerity we saw in President Muhammadu Buhari based on his administration’s absolutely genuine commitment towards recovering our schoolgirls, thousands of other women and children held in captivity,” said governor Kashim Shettima in a statement on Thursday.

“I am certain that the recovery of our 21 precious daughters from insurgency only strengthens the resolve of the Buhari administration to continue to work tirelessly until all the girls and all Nigerians abducted are freed and until the Boko Haram insurgency is brought to an end to guarantee public safety.”

Shettima said Borno State would partner the federal government and interested NGOs to ensure proper medical evaluation, trauma management and other key steps are taken for their proper reintegration into the society.

He also promised that the girls would be given a carte blanche to choose any top school they which to attend as soon as they are declared fit to resume.

He said, “we are very much ready to get them into the best schools of their choices like we have since done for the 56 girls who escaped abduction, all of whom are schooling in two International schools in the North Central and Northwest with their schools kept away from the public to ensure their privacy so as not to create publicity that could jeopardize their education.”