Chibok girls: Seven parents die of trauma

Eight-one days after the abduction of their children, seven parents of the abducted female pupils of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, have died of trauma.

The National Chairman of the Chibok community under the Kibaku Area Development Association, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, disclosed this on Friday at a news conference in Abuja.

He said the Boko Haram sect had killed 229 people in 15 attacks on the Chibok community.

The community asked the Federal Government to negotiate with the terrorist sect for the release of the 219 Chibok school girls abducted by the group.

Bitrus said the Federal Government had yet to provide adequate security in Chibok area since the girls’ abduction, even in the face of persistent attacks by the violent group.

He also called for the construction of the 40km Mbalala-Chibok-Damboa federal road which he claimed had been abandoned for over 20 years.

Bitrus said, “Today (Friday) is 81 days since the abduction and in spite of the firm categorical statements by the Chief of Defence Staff that the location of the girls is known to the government, the appalling situation and agony encompassing the unfortunate abduction saga and detention of the Chibok girls by the Boko Haram insurgents continues and the rescue efforts by the government is yet to yield any result.

“So far, Boko Haram has carried out 15 attacks on the Chibok (Kibaku) nation involving 19 villages with over 229 killed and over 100 injured. Some of the victims of the attacks are parents and relations of the abducted girls and thereby adding more pains to the traumatic condition in the Chibok community.

“While the situation persists, many distressed parents are dying of heart attack and frustration as their dejection had become unbearable. On record, seven parents have lost their lives due to the trauma of the situation.”

The Chibok elder, however, called for the reconstruction of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, and building of another secondary school in the town as a result of large number of students in a class.