Peter Joseph, a relative of some of the Chibok girls released by the Boko Haram to the Federal Government in a swap for their jailed members has said that the government is hiding something about the release and condition of the girls.
Speaking in an Al Jazeera program titled “The Stream” Joseph said he suspects the government is playing games with the parents over the fate of the girls, whom he said are been hidden from the parents, despite official claims to the contrary.
Joseph said, “I think there is something that the Federal Government does not want us to know and that is why they are keeping them away. Even when they [the schoolgirls] travelled to Chibok, they were not allowed to go to their houses.
“They were kept in government facilities in Chibok and anyone who visited them was made to sign a register, state the village where they came from, whom they wanted to see and then a time limit was given, after which you were asked to leave and there were certain things that you were not allowed to ask the girls.
“You can’t ask them about their experiences in Sambisa Forest. I mean, we don’t get it. Even now that 82 girls have been rescued, what has the government done about them? Up till today, the families have not met the girls.”
Joseph attacked the Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan, who said on the release of the 82 girls last week that the girls were free to leave the government facilities anytime they wanted.
But for Joseph: “The Women Affairs Minister is not saying the truth about this. What does she mean by the girls can leave at anytime when they don’t even allow family members or people that are concerned about them to come close to them?
“I wish she was here so that I would be able to ask her some questions personally because this thing has been bothering us the members of the family. The fact still remains that the Nigerian government needs to be open to the family members; the government needs to be open to everyone that is concerned.
“We don’t get it. I mean, are you trying to hide something? Is there something they don’t want us to hear from the girls? What are they hiding from us?
“Nobody is allowed to see them. So, it’s like another imprisonment, but this one has to do with the government.”, he queried.
Indeed parents have only had the feeling of expectation of reuniting with their daughters as a consolation since none of the 21 girls who were released in October have come home. The authorities say they are still undergoing a military re-integration program.
