Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said his government is not resting in its efforts to find the remaining Chibok girls that are still held captive by the militant group Boko Haram.
Marking the 1,000th day of the girls’ abduction, President Buhari wrote on Twitter Sunday that, “I am hopeful that soon, Chibok community, Nigeria, and, indeed, the world, will welcome the remaining girls back home.”
President Buhari also commended the country’s security agencies for their role in rescuing some of the girls.
“I salute our security agencies whose efforts have resulted in the return of some of the girls, as well as thousands of other captives. I also salute all who have been in the vanguards of the quest to the recovery of the girls, nationally and internationally,” he said.
FILE – Boko Haram on Aug. 14, 2016 released a video of the girls allegedly kidnapped from Chibok in April 2014, showing some who are still alive and claiming others died in air strikes.
An activist group campaigning for the return of the girls, Bring Back Our Girls, started one week of activities to mark the 1,000 days of the girls’ abduction.
In his interview with the Hausa Service, the public relations officer of the group Dr. Eman Shehu said, in addition to major cities in Nigeria, events will be held in other cities around the world including New York and Washington.
Last week, Nigerian soldiers found one of the lost Chibok girls.
An army spokesman said that a girl identified as one of the 200 kidnapped from the northeastern town of Chibok in April, 2014 was found Thursday, wandering in the forest near Boko Haram’s territory.
The mass kidnapping nearly three years ago drew international outrage, but despite the attention, few of the girls have been heard from since.
In October, the government negotiated the release of more than 20 girls, and several others have escaped. Most remain missing.
FILE – One of the 21 Chibok school girls recently released by Boko Haram carries her baby during their visit to meet President Muhammadu Buhari In Abuja, Nigeria October 19, 2016.
