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             Reaction Mixed to New Chibok Kidnapping Investigation

   by Chris Stein

   Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari announced Thursday a new
   investigation into the 2014 kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls from
   the northeastern town of Chibok by the Boko Haram insurgent group.

   Nearly two years have passed since Boko Haram militants made off with
   more than 200 girls who were taking final exams in Nigeria's war-torn
   northeast, and relatives of the missing girls say many questions remain
   unanswered.

   One relative, Ayuba Alamson, wants to know why the town's secondary
   school was open when others had been closed because of rising Boko
   Haram violence.

   The militant group's quest to establish strict Islamic law in the
   northeast has displaced more than 2 million people and killed more than
   20,000, according to the United Nations.

   On Thursday, Alamson was among a group of family and community members
   who met with Buhari. Alamson hopes the new inquiry will shine more
   light on the mass kidnapping.

   "So we are still demanding a comprehensive investigation to be carried
   out and for the work to be made known to these parents, relations and
   the whole world," Alamson said.

   The administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan announced an
   initial investigation weeks after the girls were taken from Chibok. But
   community member Manasseh Allen says that report was never released,
   and the investigators barely even set foot in the town.

   "They came to Chibok in a chopper, landed, just greeted the parents ...
   and they are up again," Allen said. "There was never any form of
   investigation."

   Consequently, Allen says he is skeptical of what this new investigation
   can accomplish.

   "I don't see [that this] investigation ... is going to bring out
   anything," Allen said.

   In a televised chat with journalists last month, Buhari said the girls
   have not been located. He said he would be open to negotiating with
   Boko Haram for the abductees, if their leaders could be found.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/reaction-mixed-chibok-kidnapping-inve
   stigation/3147848.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/reaction-mixed-chibok-kidnapping-investigation/3147848.html