The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), has stated that he still mourns for the children and civilians held captive. He stated this in his goodbye speech on Sunday.
Remember that Boko Haram abducted some young girls roughly a year after Buhari entered office. Some of these girls, as well as others taken before and after Buhari’s election, are still being held captive.
According to Buhari-
“Up till now, I still grieve for our children in captivity, mourn with parents, friends and relatives of all those that lost loved ones in the days of the senseless brigandage and carnage.
“For all those under unlawful captivity, our Security Agencies are working round the clock to secure their release unharmed.”
This is as the president noted that his commitment to fighting corruption was central to many decisions he took, saying that corruption “had consistently diminished our efforts to be a great country”.
The president stated that his dedication to eliminating corruption was key to many of his policies, stating that corruption “had consistently diminished our efforts to be a great country.”
According to the United Children’s Fund, over 2,400 incidences of severe violations have been documented since 2014,\. This has affected over 6,800 children in the Northeast. The most prevalent violations are the recruitment or use of minors by armed organisations (700 verified instances), followed by child abductions (693 events), and killing and maiming (675 incidents).
According to UNICEF, between 2009 and 2022, approximately 2,295 teachers were reportedly killed in attacks. Over 19,000 teachers were displaced and more than 1,500 schools were closed due to insecurity. According to reports from the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria, 910 schools were also destroyed.
cc: Punch Ng
