The heroic return home on Tuesday of 105 Dapchi schoolgirls and two boys who were seized by Boko Haram insurgents from their school in Yobe State last month gave this country an occasion for a very loud cheer. We congratulate and rejoice with the victims, their parents and relations, government and people of Yobe State as well as the Federal Government and all Nigerians on this happy occasion. 

In contrast to the 270 abducted Chibok schoolgirls that were abducted in 2014 but most of who were released only two and a half years later with nearly 100 still unaccounted for, the Dapchi girls secured their freedom after an agonising month. It was not military action that freed the girls but secret negotiations mediated by local and international mediators, though military pressure on Boko Haram must have played a role too. The same process had earlier secured the release of two batches of Chibok girls in 2016 as well as the abducted University of Maiduguri oil explorers.

Nor do we insist that Government tells Nigerians the whole story of the release, because such negotiations are necessarily secret and involve complex security operations. This is especially because sources involved in the negotiations told Daily Trust that the girls’ release has opened a window into more talks to ensure that Boko Haram, or at least its Abu Musab Albarnawi faction, accepts a ceasefire and lays down its arms. The sources said the Shekau faction is less amenable to peace talks, which is fairly obvious, but a settlement with one faction would reduce attacks on soft targets and give the military more chance to apply further pressure on Shekau.

Not all of the Dapchi girls made it back home. Five of them were said to have died on the day of the abduction due to their being jam-packed in lorries. One more girl, Leah Sharibu was not released. According to her mates, it was because she is a Christian and refused to convert to Islam as demanded by her captors. President Muhammadu Buhari, who received the girls in Abuja last Friday, pledged to ensure Leah Sharibu’s return and we urge all actors not to jeopardise her return through uncalled for actions and utterances. 

While protest marches, newspaper columns and grandiose open prayers by pastors have often helped where government detained a citizen, this one calls for a more sober approach because Boko Haram is a very different quantity. We may also learn from this episode by teaching our kids some survival skills. Most of the abducted Chibok girls were also Christians but they survived two years of brutal captivity by pretending to heed Boko Haram’s demand to convert to Islam. Now that they are back home, they are free to exercise their constitutional right to practice any religion they like.

Daily Trust