Nigeria holds ceremony one year after kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls

Nigeria on April 14 held a ceremony to mark one year since the extremist Islamist group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 high school girls, with the fate of many of them unknown.

Speaking at a ceremony held in the capital Abuja, newly elected President Muhammadu Buhari said the current whereabouts of the schoolgirls were unknown, so he could not promise to find them.

Participants at the ceremony in Abuja. (Source: AP)

Meanwhile, Nigeria's National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki affirmed that the government will make every effort to rescue the schoolgirls, and said that the military is preparing to launch an offensive to retake the Sambisa forest, one of Boko Haram's remaining strongholds, before the transfer of power to Mr. Buhari scheduled for May 29.

The Nigerian military believes Sambisa is where Boko Haram is holding the kidnapped schoolgirls and has pledged to retake the area if weather conditions improve.

In a statement on April 14, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon affirmed that he will never forget the kidnapped schoolgirls, and he will continue to call for their immediate release to their families.

The UN Secretary-General also expressed deep concern at the continued “cowardly” attacks on schools by Boko Haram in violation of international humanitarian law. Mr. Ban Ki-moon stressed that children in the North-East of Nigeria and neighboring countries must live in peace and have the right to a safe education, and reiterated his support to the governments and people of the region in the fight against Boko Haram.

In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in the northeastern state of Borno, attracting worldwide attention. About 57 managed to escape, while the remaining 219 are still being held by the group and are believed to have been married off and forced to convert./.

According to VNA