Army dashed our hopes, say Chibok schoolgirls’ parents

Parents of the abducted schoolgirls from Chibok community in Borno State, yesterday, reacted angrily to the announcement by the army that none of the abducted girls was among the 293 females rescued on Tuesday from Sambisa Forest by the troops.

This came as Amnesty International disclosed that more than 2,000 women are still in captivity of the terrorists.

Reacting to the information by the army that none of the Chibok schoolgirls was among those rescued last Tuesday, Mr Enoch Mark, whose daughter and niece are among the 219 teenagers still being held by the insurgents said: “It is disheartening for our hopes to be dashed.

“When we heard of the rescue we thought it was our girls. Parents kept contacting one another, hoping to get confirmation that their daughters were the ones rescued.

“However, it is not surprising to me that our hopes have been dashed. This has happened several times. The government has lied a few times. To us, the government no longer has credibility.”

Pogo Bitrus, whose four nieces are hostages, added: “We have never lost hope as a people, but the issue is if the military has the capacity now, why didn’t they do it before?

“We are an unfortunate bunch caught up in a political game. It is unfortunate that we find ourselves in this situation. They have played with people’s lives and messed people up.”

Meanwhile, the Amnesty International, yesterday, commended the Nigerian military for rescuing 293 women and girls from the grips of Boko Haram insurgents, even as it lamented that over 2,000 women are still in captivity.

In a statement, yesterday, it described the rescue of the women and girls as an encouraging development, noting however that it is ”only a small step in securing the safety of the thousands of women and girls abducted by the armed group since 2014.”