Cardinal welcomes the release of 21 Chibok girls

Nigeria’s Cardinal, Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, the retired archbishop of Lagos, has welcomed the release of 21 girls kidnapped from a secondary school in Chibok in the north-east of the country by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. He urged the Nigerian Government to prioritise securing the release of the remaining girls.

Cardinal Okogie said he had mixed feelings when he heard the news on 13 October of the release of the girls because he felt they should have been freed before. “Yes, it is cheering news to the parents that they would be reunited with their abducted daughters,” he said, “but the girls must have been abused by their abductors during the period and some forcefully married against their wishes.” Many of the kidnapped students were Christians who had been forcibly converted to Islam during their captivity.

Bishop Matthew Ishaya Audu of Lafia said he was happy that the girls were still alive. “We pray that the remaining ones will be released very soon,” he added. He urged the Government to arrange for counsellors and psychologists so that the young women could be fully re-integrated into society.

The girls were part of a group of 276 students kidnapped in April 2014, which prompted a global outcry and an international campaign to secure their release. Dozens of the girls escaped in the first few hours after their capture but 197 remain missing. Those released last week were flown to the capital, Abuja, where they were reunited with their families in emotional scenes including a church service filled with singing and dancing.

The girls gave a harrowing account of their captivity, including how they lived for 40 days without food in a forest.

The details about how the release was negotiated are unclear. It is believed that it may have resulted from a deal brokered by the Swiss Government and the International Red Cross.

“The Church welcomes the release of the girls. We have been praying for them since their abduction more than two years ago. Now, the Church intensifies her prayers for the release of the remaining children,” Fr John Bakeni, secretary of Maiduguri diocese, which covers Chibok, told The Tablet. “We expect the Government to do more to secure their freedom.”  

Boko Haram has killed an estimated 20,000 people and displaced more than 2.3 million. The group reportedly fractured recently after Islamic State attempted to replace its leader, Abubakar Shekau.