Buhari’s govt ends with 96 Chibok girls still in captivity after 9 years

In 45 days, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will come to an end without fulfilling one of the major promises that got him millions of votes that brought him to power in 2015.

On the night of Monday, April 14, 2014, Boko Haram terrorists attacked the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State and kidnapped 276 schoolgirls.

While the incident underscored the failure of Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, it paved way for Buhari’s presidency with the promise that he would secure the release of the schoolgirls if elected.

Ahead of the 2015 general election, Buhari on Wednesday, March 18, 2025, while speaking at a town hall meeting in Abuja promised to do all it takes to rescue the girls.

He said if elected, he would - as a retired major general - defend Nigeria’s territorial integrity, end terrorism and reunite Chibok girls and other victims of insurgency with their families.

“As a father, I feel the pain of the victims of insurgency, kidnapping and violence. Under my watch, no force, external or internal, will occupy even an inch of Nigerian soil. I will give it all it takes to ensure that our girls kidnapped from Chibok are rescued and reintegrated with their families,” Buhari promised.

Unfortunately, Buhari has only 45 days left in office and nine years after the tragic abduction of 276 schoolgirls, 96 of them are still in the custody of their captors.

96 out of 276 victims still in captivity

Following the abduction of the schoolgirls, a group of citizens advocating for their rescue launched the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.

A group of citizens advocating for the rescue launched the #BringBackOurGirls campaign in 2014. (BBOG) ece-auto-gen

According to the group, the last report on the status of the Chibok Girls in October 2022 showed that 107 victims have been released by their captors, while 57 girls escaped from their den. The military rescued 16 while 96 are still missing.

Those rescued by the military were handed over to the Government of Borno State and have not been reunited with their families.

BBOG wants Borno Govt to release Chibok girls to their families

However, the group has criticised the Borno State government for keeping the girls in its custody without reuniting them with their parents.

In a statement released on Thursday, April 13, 2023, to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the abduction of Chibok girls, the group called on the state government to release the girls and allow them to have control of their lives.

The statement reads, “We are equally distressed to learn that after a successful campaign by our gallant military in the last two years when they liberated thousands of people including over 12 girls — now women — and handed them over to the Borno State Government, our daughters and sisters remain in the custody of the State and have not been properly reunited with their families or back in control of their lives now that they are out of the hands of the terrorists.

“Have our girls escaped one form of captivity only to spend 6 months to one and a half years in a different form of captivity? What crime have they committed? Why are survivors of unimaginable trauma being treated this way?”

The group also called on President Buhari to fulfil his promises to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls, Leah Sharibu and other victims of insurgency before the end of his administration.

The group told the president that the rescue and rehabilitation of the girls whose education was interrupted and the restoration of peace in their communities would be an undeniable legacy of his administration.