The United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) has expressed joy in the return, today, Wednesday, of the over 100 school girls kidnapped from their school in Dapchi, Yobe State last month by Boko Haram insurgents.
In a statement today, Wednesday, the Representative of UNICEF Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, said: “UNICEF is delighted that the girls abducted on 19 February 2018 from a school in Dapchi, Yobe state, northeast Nigeria were returned to their families. According to unconfirmed reports, 105 girls have been returned.
“We are pleased to see that the girls are back in the safe environment of their families. UNICEF is working closely with the Ministry of Youth in Yobe state to provide the necessary support to the girls and their families. Over the last one month, the girls may have been exposed to physical and sexual violence. They need the support of their families and communities to feel safe and return to school.
“UNICEF is also working with civil society organizations to ensure that each girl receives individual attention – from medical treatment to psychosocial support.”
The UN body sympathized with families whose daughters could not come home, saying: “as we await further confirmation, five girls have reportedly died. UNICEF grieves with the families who lost their daughters.
“We are grateful for the efforts of all parties in ensuring safe return of the girls to their families.”
UNICEF reiterated that schools should be safe spaces, and protected at all times even as it recalled that since the start of the insurgency in 2009, over 2,295 teachers have been killed and 19,000 displaced, and almost 1,400 schools destroyed. [myad]
