The one-year anniversary of the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls girls is being marked today in Nigeria and around the world. Fox News reports ceremonies observing the anniversary are being held today in Nigeria and in other world capitals.
The girls, mostly aged 16 to 18, were taken from a school in Chibok on April 14, 2014 by Boko Haram militants. Some were able to escape the militant group’s captivity, but 219 girls remain missing, Fox News reports.
Nigeria’s newly elected president Muhammadu Buhari promised that the government would do “everything in its power to bring them home,” but warned that the girls may never be found.
Buhari told the BBC, "We do not know if the Chibok girls can be rescued. Their whereabouts remain unknown. As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find them."
A statement from Amnesty International said that Boko Haram often uses kidnapped women as sex slaves.
"Forced marriage, enslavement and the 'sale' of kidnapped women and girls are central to Boko Haram's modus operandi and ideology. Abducted girls who refuse marriage or sexual contact within marriage have faced violence and death threats,” the statement said.
Publication date: April 14, 2015
