The federal government has assured Nigerians that the release of the remaining abducted Chibok school girls will be secured. This was disclosed by the national coordinator of the national counter terrorism centre, (NCTC) Adamu Laka, on Tuesday.
Additionally, Leah Sharibu, the only Christian among the 110 schoolgirls kidnapped in 2018, was also assured rescue by the government. Speaking in a multi-agency meeting in Abuja, Laka disclosed that the kidnapped girls are not forgotten despite the passage of time.
According to him, some of the victims were rescued through negotiation and executed operations to get them out. He added that the government’s priority extends beyond the Chibok girls to include Nigerian aid workers still held by kidnappers.
He continued that sustained media silence does not amount to a lack of response or concern from the government. The national coordinator gave a progress report on the activities of the Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell, commissioned on December 19, 2024.
The task force serves as a central hub for intelligence sharing and support for all law enforcement agencies in rescuing kidnapped victims.
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He noted that the force has launched a state-level expansion initiative to strengthen its response to kidnapped incidents. This expansion involves the deployment of anti-kidnap liaison officers from the Nigerian police force in all 36 states of the country.
Laka added that the primary objective of the program is to unify national-level coordination and state-level response. He pledged that the plan would ensure real-time intelligence and local knowledge from field commands for strategic decisions.
In 2014, 276 girls were abducted by Boko Haram from the government girls’ secondary school, Chibok, in Borno state. 87 girls are believed to still be in captivity after 11 years of being kidnapped.
