Rescued Chibok girls reunited with parents

The 82 rescued Chibok school girls were reunited with their parents on Saturday in Abuja, two weeks after they regained freedom.

Their parents had travelled from Borno State to Abuja.

The emotion-laden reunion took place at the State Security Services facility where the girls have been kept since their release two week ago, Channels TV reported.
The girls were meeting their parents for the first time more than three years after their abduction by the terrorist sect, Boko Haram.

Joe Mutah, the chief press secretary to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said in a statement that the girls were earlier reunited with 24 of the colleagues who were rescued in October 2016.

The statement said a representative of the Minister of Women Affairs, Jummai Alhassan, announced at the event that a group of experts had been put together to address the girls’ psycho-social support and medical needs.

“The children are being rehabilitated and we believe that in due course they will be properly aligned with their families,” she was quoted as saying.

“Intensive medical attention is being administered and as soon as they are done, they will be enrolled into a remedial programme.”

“For the 21 and three that were earlier released, I wish to inform us that their psycho-social counselling is still in progress and of course they have started remedial classes.

“They are being taught five subjects, which is designed with a view to getting them back to school come the next school session, which is in September this year.

“They will be settled in various schools and I am sure they will continue their education from there,’’ she said.

The Minister reassured of the Federal Government’s commitment to intensifying efforts to rescue the remaining girls in captivity and expressed appreciation to all those involved in the rescue mission.

The chairman of the parents of the abducted school girls, Yakubu Nkeki, said their joy had no bounds and thanked President Muhammadu Buhari.

So far, a total of 106 Chibok school girls, out of the 219 captured on the night of April 14, 2014, have been rescued. (NAN)