Chibok school abandoned two years after Boko Haram abduction

In less than 10 days, the Chibok community in Northeast Nigeria will mark the second anniversary of the kidnapping of 276 girls.

The girls were kidnapped from their school by Nigeria-based insurgent group Boko Haram on April 14th 2014 but only 50 managed to escape.

With the second anniversary around the corner, parents and relatives of the missing girls are planning to gather at the school for prayers.

The girls were abducted by the militant group while they were preparing for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations.

The abduction caused international outcry as the whereabouts of the girls continue to remain unknown. A global protest ensued under the now infamous tag line ‘Bring Back Our Girls.’

The Government Girls Secondary School, the only state-run school in Chibok has since been closed and is now closely guarded despite less activity in the area.

The buildings are now dilapidated and efforts by the community to turn it to a boys high school has often fallen on deaf ears. This is despite a promise from the previous regime under former President Goodluck Jonathan to reconstruct the school.

Government Girls Secondary School of Chibok abandoned after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls two years agohttps://t.co/tiG7ZAIGyP

— The Guardian Nigeria (@GuardianNigeria) April 4, 2016

“What we need is for our children, our people to continue to follow their educations. But for now two years, no school, no learning in Chibok,” Ayuba Alamson an uncle to one of the missing girls told AFP.

“If there is no education the poor people cannot even achieve.” #BringBackOurGirls community calls for education: https://t.co/pbOzJn6osb

— A World at School (@aworldatschool) April 4, 2016

‘‘Boko Haram has achieved its aim by saying they don’t want Western education,” said Yakubu Nkeki a primary school teacher.

President Jonathan was criticised for his slow reaction to the Chibok kidnappings. This prompted President Muhammadu Buhari to launch fresh investigations into the abductions in January.

Earlier in the year, parents of some of the abducted girls marched through the capital calling for liberation of their children.

Last month, a young girl and a lady arrested in Cameroon near a border with Nigeria were thought to be part of the missing girls after one of them claimed to be a Chibok girl. Nevertheless, upon further investigation it was determined that they were not part of the missing Nigerian school girls.

Cameroonian authorities arrested the pair who were strapped with 12 kilogramme belt of explosives.

The Nigerian government was keen to ascertain the girl’s identity so she could assist with inquiries into the whereabouts of the other missing girls.

Boko Haram has carried out a spate of suicide bombings in Nigeria and its neighbouring countries frequently using girls.

The insurgency group is seeking to establish an Islamic state in Africa’s largest economy.

AFP