The 11 Minute Video Shows Approximately 50 of the Remaining 218 Missing Girls
08/04/2016 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern): International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned of a video released by Boko Haram on Sunday, August 14, which includes footage of the remaining kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.
The video shows girls reading a list of demands from the militant Islamist terror group in exchange for the safe return of those pictured. The footage first aired on social media where international news media picked up the story.
In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 teenage girls from a boarding school in Chibok, Nigeria. Within days following the tragedy, 57 girls escaped, but 218 remain in captivity.
A Nigerian vigilante group found and rescued Amina Ali Nkeki and her infant child on May 17, 2016, wandering near the edge of Sambisa Forest, according to reports.
The father of one of the girls has confirmed the identity of his daughter, Maida Yakubu, in the recently released video. The footage reveals a masked Boko Haram militant and approximately 50 of the remaining missing schoolgirls. Using Yakubu as a mouthpiece, the militants demand the release of other Boko Haram insurgents in exchange for the safe return of the girls. They appeal to the parents to force the hand of the Nigerian government in this matter.
The video also reportedly depicts dead teenage girls, clips that analysts speculate could be slain Chibok girls. In the footage, Boko Haram blames Nigerian airstrikes for causing the casualties, a claim the Nigerian government has reportedly denied.
ICC recently reported on the split in leadership of Boko Haram, a crucial piece in understanding the timing of this video release. This video is believed to be a power show by Boko Haram’s longtime but recently replaced leader, Abubakar Shekau.
“We are not happy living here,” Yakubu tells the camera in clips shown on CNN, “I’m begging our parents to meet the government to release their people so that we can be released.”
Boko Haram has reportedly promised that without the Nigerian government meeting their list of demands, their parents will never again see them alive.
Troy Augustine, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “ICC rejoices that this latest video shows that at least a number of the kidnapped Chibok girls are still alive. It brings relief and confidence to Christians, to the girls’ parents, and to the world that these families may be one day reunited. However, ICC calls on the Nigerian government to redouble their efforts to secure the girls’ safe return. Now, nearly two and a half years on from the abduction and following multiple videos establishing ‘proof of life,’ little has changed to suggest the Nigerian military is getting any closer to rescuing the girls. We call on all those concerned to continue to pray for the Chibok girls and their families and to continue to raise alarm about the urgency of the need to bring back our girls.”
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