Former Nigerian President Says Some Abducted Schoolgirls May Never Return

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: Jun 13, 2014

Former Nigerian President Says Some Abducted Schoolgirls May Never Return

Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo has publicly stated his lack of faith in the Nigerian government to free the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in April. 

“I believe that some of them will never return. We will still be hearing about them many years from now,” Obasanjo told BBC. 

Obasanjo still has influence in Nigeria; the former president assisted current president Goodluck Jonathan rise to leadership, though he has since withdrawn support.

“If you get them all back, I consider it a near-miracle...Do you think they (Boko Haram) will hold all of them together up till now? The logistics for them to do that, holding over 200 girls together, is too much. If the administration had acted quickly, we could have rescued them,” Obasanjo said. 

The former president and “powerful political godfather” has said that if Jonathan will campaign for re-election in 2015, it would be a “morally flawed” decision. Reuters reports that campaign posters have already been placed in the capital city of Abuja. 

Publication date: June 14, 2014



Former Nigerian President Says Some Abducted Schoolgirls May Never Return