Exactly 10 years after the abduction of 276 students of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State, former abductees, parents and relatives gathered at the multipurpose hall of the school on Sunday to pray for the safe return of 92 uncounted girls.
At the inter-faith service of prayers, speakers expressed mixed reactions following the turnout of events since 2014, central among the comments being a demand for explanation on why the remaining girls were yet to be rescued while others have regained freedom.
Chibok, located in the southern part of Borno State, is about 125 kilometers from the capital, Maiduguri at the heart of the Sambisa forest.
On the 14th of April, 2014, female students of the school in Chibok were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists and taken into Sambisa forest.
Ten years on, 179 of those students have either escaped or been released but 92 of them remain unaccounted for.
Several of the girls returned to their families as mothers, others as widows of late Boko Haram fighters while very few were lucky to return unmarried and/or without children.
Though some of the parents were delighted to see their children, regardless of their status, others continue to wonder about the fate of their daughters.
During the prayer programme, religious leaders and parents could not hold back their tears as various speakers recounted their ordeal and their efforts to get the remaining girls freed.