Chibok Girls: Nyako lauds FG

A member of the National Assembly, Sen Abdulaziz Nyako (APC-Adamawa), on Monday commended Federal Government on the release of 82 Chibok school girls abducted in 2014 by Boko Haram terrorists.

The released girls were among no fewer than 200 of them abducted from their school in Chibok community in Borno on April 14, 2014, by the insurgents.

Aside a few of the girls that escaped from the terrorists’ camp at different times, 21 of them were released in October, 2016 after an intense negotiation between the group and the government.

Nyako told journalists in Abuja on Monday that he was “grateful to God that the girls are alive’’.

“We are grateful to God. God has shown Nigerians mercy. The Federal Government has played its role, and we are extremely delighted that they are back with us.

“As Nigerians, we are proud of what the Federal Government has done. We are extremely happy for these girls and their families. My joy has no limits,” he said.

On insinuations that the release of the girls was stage-managed, the lawmaker said: “when their daughters get involved, we should talk about it being stage-managed.

“It is very unfair on the families of the girls. It is not about politics and it is not about anything. The right thing is that these girls are back with us and we are grateful to God.”

He called on the government to sustain the current stride and bring back the remaining girls.

“People have different opinions as to the approach. I believe that swap was the best option; it is better to save more lives than to lose more lives.

“The swap is okay. This matter is beyond politics. This is well beyond politics and we should be careful not to reduce everything to politics.

“I believe they were abducted even before the APC was consolidated as a party.”

Nyako called the government to ensure that the girls got the needed psychological support to enable them integrate into the society.

On their security, he said that the girls should be kept for a while to ascertain certain things before being sent back to their families.

“It is not a bad idea to have a special package for them, like education,” he said.