"293 girls and women rescued from Sambisa forest are from Gumsiri, not Chibok" - Borno Govt

Following the rescue of 293 women and girls from Sambisa forest by Nigerian troops, the Borno State Government on Wednesday confirmed that the rescued women and girls are not the missing Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted a year ago by Boko Haram insurgents, but indigenes of Gumsiri village in Damboa Local Government Area of the state.

The Commissioner for Information, Dr. Mohammed Bulama, at a briefing, told journalists that the profiles of the 200 girls and 93 women rescued by the military on Tuesday showed that they were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents from Gumsiri village.


The Borno government, through Bulama, commended the Nigerian Army for rescuing the 293 women/girls from captivity, adding that it still believed and hoped that other abducted persons would be rescued soon.

Bulama said the government had started making plans to put in place all the necessary structures to rehabilitate and reintegrate the freed 293 females back into the society.

“These girls and women rescued are still our daughters, just as much as the Chibok girls, and we have to commend the military for liberating them, hoping that the rest will equally be liberated.

“Though everyone had thought they were the Chibok girls because of the hype surrounding the abduction of the Chibok girls, but we should not lose sight that they are as important as the Chibok girls and those that are still in captivity who we hope would be liberated soon.

“But at the moment, we are looking up to the time the 293 women and girls would be handed to us so that we can begin the process of rehabilitating and reinterpreting them back to the society,” he said.

The government’s disclosure of the identity of the rescued females followed the growing speculation over the possible rescue of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists a year ago.

Thousands of women are believed to have been kidnapped by the insurgents in the last few years, but the kidnapping that drew the attention of the world was that of the Chibok schoolgirls.

Credit: ThisDay