‘Chibok Girls will all return soon,’ President assures Nigerians

President Muhammadu

In a statement to commemorate the three-year abduction of the Chibok girls on Thursday, April 13, 2017, President noted that the federal government would do everything necessary to ensure their rescue.

Buhari maintained that his administration has successfully degraded the Boko Haram terrorist sect.

The president noted that his administration would ‘bend over backwards’ to ensure the safe return of the remaining Chibok girls.

We were determined to secure the release of the Chibok girls and others forcefully abducted from their homes and communities and retake the occupied territories.

He said: "Determined to secure the freedom of the abducted girls and recover lost territories, this administration gave the necessary political and logistical backing which energised gallant members of our armed forces and other security agencies to overrun the headquarters of Boko Haram in the Sambisa Forest and scatter the terrorists from their strong base.

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"Today, the group has been degraded and is no longer in a position to mount any serious, coordinated attack, other than sporadic suicide attacks on soft targets. Even at that, their reach is very much confined to a small segment of the North East where they had previously held sway unchecked.

“On the Chibok girls, we have had reason to celebrate the return of twenty-four of them and thousands of other Nigerians who were forcibly abducted by the terrorists.

“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.

“Like I have repeatedly said, the federal government is willing to bend over backwards to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls. 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,” the president added.

President Buhari urged Nigerians to remain security conscious adding that no group would ‘hold the country to ransom’ under his watch.