A report by the Presidential Fact Finding Committee on the Abduction of Chibok School Girls submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan says 219 girls are still held by the members of the Boko Haram terrorist group that abducted the girls on April 14 from their school dormitory.
The report of the committee led by Brigadier-General Ibrahim Sabo laid to rest any doubt whether or not the girls were abducted, one of the reasons for setting up the committee.
According to the report presented to the Nigerian president on Friday, a total of 276 students were abducted, while 57 have been reunited with their families after escaping from the terrorists.
The committee recommended that the report be treated with utmost confidentiality and warned that little will be achieved through finger pointing or blame game.
The committee was set up on May 6 following controversies as to whether or not the girls were missing.
They were mandated by the President to establish why the school was open, liaise with the parents to know the number of girls missing how many returned and mobilise citizens’ support for rescue strategy, and advise government on other issues.
They worked for five weeks with support from all except one senator and Brigadier-General Sabo stressed the need for all Nigerians to support military effort to rescue the girls
Receiving the report, President Jonathan expressed sadness that the girls were still in the hands of the terrorists three months after and pledged to do all in his powers to ensure their release and an end to Boko Haram insurgency.
“None of us can afford good sleep until those girls are returned,” he said, expressing optimism that the girls would be rescued.
President Jonathan praised the patriotic zeal of the committee and security personnel, the risk taken to compile the report, the commitment of all Nigerians on the issues and the efforts of the international community.
“No information provided by the committee will be left unused until terror is crushed in Nigeria. The government is not limiting its effort on security operations alone but is stepping up efforts to improve the welfare of citizens of Nigeria too,” he said.
The President, however, stressed that the incident in Chibok could have been avoided.
The Federal Government promised to rebuild the Chibok Girls Secondary School, introduce a victims’ support fund that will take care of the displaced parents and children who have been made orphan following terror attacks in the north east.