First lady Aisha Buhari on Monday called for an end to the abduction of girls in Nigeria.
Mrs Buhari said this in her message shared on social media to commemorate the International Women’s Day 2021 with the theme, “Choose to Challenge.”
The first lady also lent her voice to the calls for the public to continue observing COVID-19 preventive protocols despite the availability of vaccines.
“Away from COVID-19, women and girls in Nigeria have continued to suffer abductions both in the hands of insurgents and bandits.
“As a mother, I share the sorrow and agony of the victims and their families. I am also not unaware of the impact that these abductions could have in reverting many successes we have hitherto achieved, especially in terms of girl-child education and early marriages.
“I call on all stakeholders to continue to exert their different levels of influence and bring these abductions to an end and to assure us that girls are safe anywhere they may find themselves,” she said.
Mrs Buhari’s whereabouts have been a subject of discussion for months with some reports suggesting that she is in Dubai, UAE.
The first lady’s call comes against the backdrop of the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School in remote Jangebe village, Zamfara.
While the girls have been released, some girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents from a school in Dapchi, Yobe in 2018 are yet to be released.