A decade on, the world has largely forgotten about the Chibok girls, who were kidnapped by Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist militants. But for victims and their families, like Solomon Maina, who is still waiting for news about his daughter, the tragedy is ongoing.

Chibok

A decade has passed since the kidnapping of the Chibok girls by Boko Haram Islamist militants in Nigeria. This event, while it garnered significant attention at the time, seems to have faded from the global consciousness. However, for the victims and their families, the aftermath of this tragedy remains a present and painful reality.

One such individual is Solomon Maina, who continues to await any news regarding his daughter's fate. His experience underscores the ongoing personal tragedies faced by those directly affected by the kidnappings. The protracted silence and uncertainty surrounding the status of many of the Chibok girls illustrate the enduring suffering and unresolved anguish endured by their families.



Tragedy of Nigeria's Chibok Girls continues 10 years on

Solomon Maina's daughter, Deborah, was one of the 276 schoolgirls kidnapped from their dormitory in the middle of the night by Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist militants 10 years ago. Global outrage was swift. The Bring Back Our Girls campaign drew support from the likes of Michelle Obama and Sylvester Stallone. Then in 2016 and 2017, negotiations led to the highly publicised liberation of around 100 captives. Deborah was not one of them. A decade on from the abduction, the world has largely forgotten the plight of the Chibok girls. But for Maina, the tragedy is ongoing. I am any time thinking, even for example at night, I am thinking, oh, this is my daughter, where is she now? Where is she now? Is she in a comfortable place or what kind of place that she is living? This is any time I am thinking in this way. Abductees who have returned home have struggled to resume their lives. Some are raising children and fathered by their captors. Others have waited years for funds promised by the government to continue their education. Yagana Yamani is one of the liberated captives. She waited for government funds for six years after escaping her captors. She finally asked her mother, a farmer, to help. Now 25, she is studying public health. After secondary school, they say that even master's degree, everything they will do for us. But after that secondary school, we didn't see anything again. Nobody told us that this girl has graduated from secondary school. They told us to take her to university. They didn't fulfill their promise. Dozens freed only in the past few years are living inside a military-run rehabilitation camp with surrender Boko Haram fighters they married in the bush. That's according to the Murtala Muhammad Foundation, a charity that advocates for them. Three of the surviving women told Reuters that in at least five cases, women who arrived at the camp unmarried have been married to surrendered fighters once there. Family members say government officials have officiated over such weddings in an apparent effort to appease the surrendered fighters. Muhammad Maina is a program officer for the foundation. I can say they're still married, like, with the contact they hold in the forest, so they're still holding to that tie, to that bond. And I don't know, maybe after they were fully released into the society, they will do a proper wedding with the blessings of their parents, because I believe some of them, their parents have not yet blessed the marriage. The state official in charge of the rehabilitation project did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Roughly 90 Chibok girls are still missing. Based on the accounts of former abductees, the Murtala Muhammad Foundation believes a third of those have died in captivity. Those that remain in the bush, they are my friends, so I was praying maybe one day we still see each other.

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