On Wednesday, March 14, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari visited the north-east of the country, a region devastated by nine years of war. First in Damaturu then Dapchi, where he met the parents of the 110 students, kidnapped last month by alleged members of Boko Haram.
He assured them that the Nigerian security forces were working tirelessly and said that the girls’ forthcoming release was “no doubt”.
It was a visit to the run, but essential. After the confusion that followed the abduction of girls on 19 February, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari once again tried to rectify the situation.
In a speech in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, he assured that the release of the girls was “no doubt”.
“As a result of our commitment, more than 100 girls from Chibok have been released and have found their families. (…) We have no doubt that Dapchi’s daughters will be rescued and released. I want to reassure parents, Nigerians and the international community: we will do everything in our power to bring the girls back safely to their families.”
Muhamadu Buhari then went to the locality of Dapchi where he met the families of the disappeared girls. The head of state reiterated his statement, assuring that the army and security forces are working tirelessly to free the hostages.
“Since he has promised to save the girls and ask the security forces to bring them back, we pray for that, of course! But we can not easily accept everything they say until we have seen the girls come back to their parents!”, Said Bukar Kachallah, secretary of the association of parents of abducted girls.
On Tuesday, the Bring Back Our Girls movement gave the authorities a seven-day ultimatum to track down the Chibok and Dapchi students, threatening them with lawsuits for “incompetence” and “negligence”.
