100 days! Chibok Girls still in captivity! #BringBackOurGirls

Today marks the 100th day since the mass abduction of over 200 girls, which has horrified millions of people around world.

While 57 girls have so far escaped or released, others remain in custody of the insurgents, who threatened to sell them into slavery or marry them off, unless the government swapped them with his comrades detained all over the country.

But the government rejected the offer, saying that it does not negotiate with terrorists, especially a faceless group like Boko Haram. Since then, the sect has launched more deadly attacks and has kidnapped more women in northern Nigeria.


The whereabouts of the girls have remained unknown and repeated claims by the military or government officials that the girls have been located and would soon be released are no more taken seriously by many Nigerians who gradually regard their military as feckless and corrupt with money given to them to fight the insurgents diverted into private pockets as revealed by American officials in May and June this year.

The inability of Jonathan to visit Chibok and utterances by the First Lady, Patience Jonathan, shortly after the kidnap, have made many to conclude that the president and his administration are not seriously enough about the rescue operation.

After the girls were kidnapped, the presidency at first believed it was a hoax, according to some inside source. President Jonathan was berated for not even acknowledging and mentioning the horrific incident in public until after three weeks. By that time, the social media platforms, especially twitter, were awash with the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.

The mass abduction and the poor government response horrified millions of people around the world, including celebrities such as Michelle Obama and Angelina Jolie. From New York to London to South Africa and in virtually all big cities around the world, protesters stormed streets, held placards and called on Boko Haram to release the girls.

The protesters blasted Jonathan for his poor response and urged the government to intensify action to bring the girls back home and alive. Foreign nations such as the United States, Britain, France, Israel, and China, as well as neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger, promised military assistance.

Since then, US drones and other planes have been flying over the Sambisa forest, where the girls are believed to be held, and Cameroon has deployed over a thousand soldiers to its border with Nigeria in an attempt to suffocate the sect.

The United Nations has also designated Boko Haram a terrorist organisation and millions of dollars are up for grabs for anyone who can provide useful information about the whereabouts of Shekau, the Boko Haram leader.

But despite these efforts, and repeated claims by the Nigerian military and government officials that the girls have been located, they are yet to be rescued; 100 days after the shocking incident took place.