Nigerian president meets freed schoolgirls
ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari expressed joy Sunday at meeting with the 82 Chibok schoolgirls newly freed after being held captive for three years by Boko Haram Islamic extremists.
“We’ve always made it clear that we will do everything in our power to ensure the freedom & safe return of our daughters & of all BH [Boko Haram] captives,” Buhari said on his Twitter account.
Photos tweeted by the president show dozens of the freed girls at Buhari’s official residence.
“The president was delighted to receive them and he promised that all that is needed to be done to reintegrate them into the society will be done,” said presidential spokesman Femi Adesina. “He promised the presidency will personally supervise their rehabilitation.
The young women have been handed over to government officials who will supervise their rehabilitation,
said Adesina. The schoolgirls will be reunited with their families soon, said the International Committee of the Red Cross, which helped negotiate the girls’ release.
Shortly after meeting the freed schoolgirls Buhari announce he will be returning to London for medical treatment. Buhari was in Britain earlier this year for more than seven weeks for medical care. In Nigeria, Buhari missed three consecutive Cabinet meetings, prompting concerns for his health.
Other Nigerians’ including some parents of the kidnapped girls, gathered in Abuja at the Unity Fountain to celebrate the weekend release.
Parents of the missing girls expressed anxiety over the fate of their daughters.
The Rev. Enoch Mark, whose two daughters have been among the missing, was still waiting word if they were among those freed. He emphasized, though, that he considered all 82 of the girls to be his daughters “because most of them worship in my church.”
“Three years is not three days,” he said. “I have to be anxious with the intention to see if one of my daughters is among the released ones.”
Some parents did not live long enough to see their daughters released, underscoring the tragedy of the three-yearlong saga. And the recovery process is expected to be a long one for the girls, many of whom endured sexual assault during their time in captivity.