We regret voting for Buhari in 2015, says Chibok Community

People from Chibok resident in Abuja and members of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement has said they regretted voting for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election.

They expressed their regrets on Monday in Abuja at a protest rally over the inability of government to rescue most of the school girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, in their school in Chibok, Borno, in 2014.

Boko Haram had last week released a video of the girls who are still alive and said they were willing to trade the girls in exchange for their members in detention in various prisons.

One of the girls, Maida Yakubu, who also spoke in the video asked their parents to beg government to accede to the demand of Boko Haram so that they would be released.

But speaking during the protest today, the chairman of the Chibok Community, Hosea Tsambido said members of the Community and BBOG voted massively for Mr. Buhari as against his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, who they voted for in 2011.

“They tell us that our girls seen in the latest video was merely an arrangement,” Mr. Tsambido said. 

“No one has spoken to the family of any of the Chibok girls since the last video was released, by the terrorists. We regret our votes. We regret it.”

The community further said leader said, “We were promised that the president would visit Sambisa, after becoming president. We were also told that within two weeks our girls would be rescued.

“But over one year now, there is no tangible statement about our girls. The presidency has stated instead that it is confused.”

The BBOG group said it was embarking on a fresh 14-day campaign to re-energize the clamour for the rescue of the girls.

The protesters were heading for the Presidential villa to speak with the president but were stopped by a combined team of security personnel at the entrance of the three arms zone.

The group said this administration has ran out of excuses regarding the return of the Chibok girls.

“No more excuses,” they chanted several times.