Zuko Komisa
Over 270 Chibok girls in Nigeria were kidnapped by Boko Haram 10 years ago.
A special memorial service was organized on Sunday, April 14, in Chibok, Nigeria, in remembrance of the kidnapping of over 270 girls ten years earlier.
According to reports by 2014, Boko Haram had killed hundreds of pupils since it started attacking schools in 2010. The Chibok girls’ abduction was religiously motivated. Boko Haram sought to make it very evident that, under Sharia law, Western education is prohibited.
That day in 2014, schoolgirls from the federal government school, predominantly Christians, were abducted by Boko Haram extremists from their dormitories.
Point of View with Phemelo Motene spoke to Collins Athuhegbe, a journalist in Nigeria on the 10th anniversary of Chibok girls kidnapping.
Listen to the conversation here:
“There are 90 girls who still remain in captivity”
Athuhegbe confirmed that there are still girls who remain in captivity, stating that the government has increased budgets to counter the kidnappings.
“There are some who are remaining in captivity that have not been recovered. Sometimes it still remains difficult to blame the government, because as many have noted the issues of insurgency, some people say that people are saying its because they are doing it for financial gains, but the government has been making efforts to make sure that kidnapping of not just girls, but of children of questionable age is prevented.”
According to Africanews, Since the Chibik girl’s abduction, at least 1,500 pupils have been abducted as armed groups increasingly see them as a profitable means of financing other crimes and seizing control of villages in the northwest of the country.
Athuhegbe also spoke of a demoralization of the Nigerian army, who he says are constantly facing ambushes by insurgents in the country.
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