Abuja: Nigeria’s president-elect Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday cautioned he could not make promises on the return of 219 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram, as the country marked the first anniversary of their abduction.
The comments by Mr Buhari, who takes office on May 29, stand in contrast to outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan, who has repeatedly said the girls will be found, and the military, which said last year it knew where they were being held.
Mr Buhari said there was a need for “honesty” in his new government’s approach to the girls’ abduction, with nothing seen or heard from the students since last May when they appeared in a video.
“We do not know if the Chibok girls can be rescued. As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find them,” he said. “But I say to every parent, family member and friend of the children that my government will do everything in its power to bring them home.”
The focus of the one-year commemoration was on Abuja, where a vigil demanding the girls’ immediate release has been held almost every day since they were kidnapped.
