Buhari Meets Freed Unimaid Lecturers

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met with the recently released three University of Maiduguri lecturers and the 10 women abducted by insurgents in the Northeast.

During the meeting which was held at the Presidential Villa, the President restated the government’s commitments in rescuing all those abducted by the insurgents especially the recent kidnap of over 100 secondary school girls from Dapchi.

The President also instructed the National Youth Service Corps, (NYSC) to issue a certificate of completion to one of the women who was serving at the time of her abduction.

Director of the State Security Service (DSS), Mr Lawal Daura, whose agency coordinated the negotiations that culminated in the release of the abductees, said negotiations were the best option at the time in order to facilitate the release without endangering the lives of the victims.

The two groups were abducted by different terrorist organizations located in different places making negotiations tedious.

The abductees have all been medically examined, treated, psychologically evaluated and are ready to be reunited with their families.

All 13 persons were part of the oil exploration team ambushed by Boko Haram on Tuesday, July 25, 2015.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said in a statement that those freed were “10 women police officers and three university professors”.

“We are so pleased that these 13 people are free and will be able to see their families again,” the ICRC’s Deputy Regional Director for Africa, Patrick Youssef, said.

Although it facilitated the handover of the freed persons, the ICRC said it was not involved in the negotiations that led to their release.

“The armed opposition handed the 13 people over to ICRC representatives who transported them to Nigerian authorities,” it said.

“This action was similar to what the ICRC did in October 2016 and May 2017, when we transported the released “Chibok girls” to Nigerian officials.”