By Hassan Zaggi
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has criticized the Federal Government over what it described as the total abandonment of the 103 Chibok girls that were rescued after their abduction by the Boko Haram terrorists in April, 2014.
It also called on the Federal Government to show more commitment to rescue the remaining 112 girls who are still being held by their abductors.
It would be recalled the 219 Chibok school girls were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists while writing their final Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (SSCE) on April 14, 2014.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Isuwa Dogo, the MBF regretted that: “Since May 2017 when they were rescued, rehabilitated and sent to the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, to prepare them to rewrite their SSCE, and proceed to various pre-degree programmes, neither the re-siting of the SSCE nor the pre-degree programme saw the light of day.
“The inability of the Federal Government and those directly responsible for the welfare and progress of the rescued girls to monitor and evaluate their level of educational progress have cast a bleak on the future of the girls.
“Consequently, some of the rescued girls got frustrated and abandoned their studies, with some of them even married off.
“Presently, no fewer than 10 of the girls have since dropped out, and there are fears that more may not return after the easing off of the current COVID-19 lockdown.”
While lamenting that the rescued girls have been left in a state of confusion, the MBF called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene.
“It is a tragedy of unspeakable proportion that these girls who ought to have attracted the sympathy of the government have been mistreated and left at sixes and sevens.
“In the face of continued dark clouds of hopelessness hovering over them, we call on President Buhari to intervene and save the academic careers of these girls,” the group said.
The MBF insisted that the confusion that has trailed the academic careers of the rescued school girls should be resolved, and called on President Buhari to ensure the safe return of the remaining 112 school girls who are still under the captivity of Boko Haram.
