President Muhammadu Buhari has said he still grieves for children and citizens in captivity. He made this known today in his farewell speech on Sunday.
Recall that Boko Haram kidnapped some young girls about a year after Buhari took over as president. Some of these girls and others kidnapped before and after Buhari became president are still in captivity.
Buhari said, “Up till now, I still grieve for our children still in captivity, mourn with parents, friends and relatives of all those that lost loved ones in the days of the senseless brigandage and carnage.
“For all those under unlawful captivity, our Security Agencies are working round the clock to secure their release unharmed.”
This is as the president noted that his commitment to fighting corruption was central to many decisions he took, saying that corruption “had consistently diminished our efforts to be a great country.”
According to the United Children’s Fund, since 2014, there have been over 2,400 incidents of grave violations verified, affecting over 6,800 children in the North-East. The most common violations are recruitment or use of children by armed groups with 700 verified cases, followed by abductions of children, with 693 incidents, and killing and maiming, with 675 incidents.
UNICEF, in its recent publication further stated that reports from the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria revealed that, between 2009 and 2022, around 2,295 teachers were reportedly killed in attacks, over 19,000 teachers were displaced, more than 1,500 schools closed because of insecurity, and 910 schools were destroyed.
