Chibok Girls: BBOG demands return of 112 kidnapped 7 years ago

The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) advocacy group has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the release of 112 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram nearly seven years ago.

Terrorists kidnapped 276 female students from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno on August 14, 2014, sparking an international campaign for their release.

While many of the girls have escaped, and/or rescued by military action and negotiations over the years, 112 of them remain unaccounted for.

Ahead of the seventh year anniversary of the abduction, BBOG renewed its call on the government to reunite the girls with their families.

The group accused the Buhari-led government of abandoning the girls and failing to fulfil its promise to ensure all of them are reunited with their families.

"The fate of our missing 112 Chibok Girls and the continuing trauma of Chibok parents and their communities are slipping from public consciousness and are no longer a priority for the Federal Government of Nigeria," an official statement read.

BBOG listed seven demands for the government to execute, including the release of the girls; provision of psycho-social support for families traumatised by the abduction; and the complete renovation and reopening of the Government Secondary School, Chibok.

The group also demanded that the government provides trained security personnel for schools as part of the Safe Schools Initiative.

"We cannot continue to see case after case of children being abducted from their schools.

"We demand adequate security for all public schools, including emergency response training of staff on early warning protocols," the group said.

The group said it will launch a renewed global campaign, tagged "Until All Are Free", to pressure the Nigerian government to keep its promise to ensure the return of the girls.