The Federal Government says it remains committed to the ongoing efforts to rescue Leah Sharibu, and the 96 remaining students of the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, abducted by Boko Haram terrorists.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, gave the assurance on Monday while addressing journalists on the achievements in the last seven years in Abuja.
Sharibu was kidnapped alongside 110 students of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi, Yobe State by terrorists in 2018.
There were insinuations that Leah was kept in captivity by the insurgents because of her Christian faith
The terrorists had released 180 students in batches while 96 are still in captivity.
However, the minister said: “We coordinated strategic interventions geared towards bringing succour to the families of the girls, as well as effectively support programmes aimed at reintegrating them.
“From the 2017 to 2019 Academic Session, 106 were placed in a special Foundation programme of the American University by the 2020/2021 Academic Session, the number of girls was reduced to 89 as 8 of them withdrew from the programme for various personal reasons.
“As of the 2021/2022 Academic Session, the number further dropped to 79 as some of them opted out to get married. All of the 79 girls have been enrolled as undergraduates at the American University.”
