After the terrorist group Boko Haram abducted over 200 Nigerian schoolgirls in April, Nigerian officials have concluded their investigation after little progress has been made.
Brigadier General Ibrahim Sabo submitted his final report late last week, stating that 219 girls remain in captivity, a total still virtually unchanged since terrorist stormed their village in northeast Borno. According to the report, at least 57 girls escaped and has been reunited with their families. A total of 276 girls were kidnapped on April 14 while taking exams in their secondary school.
“We are … pained that the schoolgirls remain in captivity,” Sabo said in a statement. “The hostage situation that this represents is obviously delicate.”
The government’s failure to rescue the girls, or protect them prior to their abduction, has become a political liability for President Goodluck Jonathan, especially with elections next year. In a statement, Sabo defends the Nigerian government, “for the Chibok schoolgirls, little will be achieved through finger-pointing. Getting the girls out, and safely, too, is by far more important than the publicity generated by the blame game that has tended to becloud the issue.”
Sabo recommended that the final report remain confidential to avoid impeding the hunt for the girls.
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