President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an investigation into the kidnapping of of 219 schoolgirls in the northeastern town of Chibok in April 2014 by Boko Haram militants, an incident that sparked an international social media campaign.
National Security Adviser Babagana Munguno will name the members of the panel, Garba Shehu, a presidential spokesman, said in an emailed statement on Thursday. Earlier, Buhari met some parents of the girls, most of who are still missing, in Abuja, the capital. The meeting ended in a fiasco as President Buhari angrily stormed out of the meeting.
READ: Buhari Loses Patience, Storms Out of Meeting With Ezekwesili’s #BBOG Group
Garba Shehu confirmed the investigation in a set of tweets on Thursday.
1. President @MBuhari has approved an investigation into the theft of the 219 gIrls from Government Secondary in Chibok, Borno State.
— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) January 14, 2016
Further details in the emailed statement disclosed that “The investigation will seek to, among other things, unravel the remote and immediate circumstances leading the kidnap of the girls by Boko Haram terrorists as well the other events, actions and inactions that followed the incident.”
The head of Nigeria’s military, Gabriel Olonisakin, said that security forces had the “ability” to rescue the girls and that “intelligence is delicate and we don’t want to do anything to jeopardize” their lives.
Boko Haram has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 1.5 million during a six-year campaign to establish Islamic law in Africa’s biggest economy. The group was beaten back from territory it held early last year but continues to carry out suicide bombings and hit-and-run attacks. Buhari, who came to power in May 2015, has made it a priority to end the insurgency.
The Chibok abduction led to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign championed by Michelle Obama and thousands of others.
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