Parents of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in 2014 have refuted claims by Reuben Abati, presidential spokesperson under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, that the Federal Government under the former leader had rescued many of the girls.

The former aide had disclosed, during a television interaction with Femi Adesina, President Muhammadu Buhari’s special adviser on media and publicity, on Wednesday, that the girls were sent to study in the United States and the United Kingdom after their release.
He said the then National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, advised Jonathan against publicising the release so as not to reveal the girls’ identities.

He asked Adesina to verify his assertion from the DSS and the nation’s intelligence agency.

While the two security outfits have yet to react to Abati, the chairman of Chibok Parents’ Association, Yakubu Nkenke, yesterday denied that any of the Chibok girls was found by the Jonathan administration.

He said it was under the present administration that secured the release of 107 of the girls from the captors.

Nkenke said even Amina Ali, the first among the abducted girls to be found, breathed the air of freedom after Buhari came to power.
The parents expressed disgust at such a comment, saying Abati could only make sense if he meant that he and other officials of the Jonathan government freed some of the girls and held them away from their parents.

“Does he mean they rescued some of the Chibok girls and are keeping them somewhere? If that is what he means, then they should immediately release the girls to us.

“What we know is that the Buhari regime negotiated for and secured the release of all the girls we have with us now. Soon after their release, I was called to Abuja to identify them. These girls are currently at the American University of Nigeria, Yola under federal government’s full scholarship.”

Nkenke called for continued efforts on the part of the Federal Government to free the remaining 112 girls still in captivity, saying some of the parents were traumatized while 32 had died.
“We thank Baba Buhari for his commitment to get the girls, yet we call for more efforts to free the remaining girls,” he said.