ABUJA: Nigerian Pres­ident Muhammadu Buhari received the released Dap­chi girls on Friday in a meeting clouded by the absence of a Christian student still held by Boko Haram for refusing to convert to Islam.

“We entered into negotiation solely to make sure that no single girl was hurt. This strategy paid off as the girls are being released without any incident,” Buhari said to reporters at the presidential villa in Abuja. The girls, dressed in brig­htly coloured hijabs, enthusiastically sang the national anthem before posing for photos with Buhari outside in a garden.

Describing the release of the 107 youngsters — 105 schoolgirls and a younger boy and girl — as a “cheery and hearty” development, Buhari pledged to recover “every abducted citizen in Nigeria.” “While parents of the Dapchi girls rejoice because of the reunion with their children, I want to appeal to the Chibok community never to lose hope or despair. We are determined as never before to bring back our remaining Chibok daughters,” he said.

The latest mass kidnapping from the town of Dapchi was an embarrassment for Buhari whose government has repea­tedly claimed that the Boko Haram Islamist group is close to defeat.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2018