chibok-grils-reunion2: “We stayed for a month without food; I escaped a bomb blast” – Freed Chibok girls express joy

A special church thanksgiving service was held on Sunday at the presidential villa for the 21 Chibok school girls recently released by Boko Haram after spending two years in captivity.

The service was hosted by the federal government of Nigeria, with information minister, Lai Mohammed, representing the government.

It was an emotional ceremony with the families crying for joy as they saw their daughters who recounted their indescribable ordeal in the hands of the terrorists.

“We stayed for one month without food. I narrowly escaped bomb blast in the forest. I never knew there would be a day like this. I will give thanks to God,’’ Gloria Dame, one of the released girls, said.

She said Nigerians should continue to pray for the quick release of the remaining girls in Boko Haram’s captivity.

Information minister Lai Mohammed described the event as “a day of joy.’’

He advised Nigerians against making unguarded statements that could truncate the rescue efforts.

According to reports, the families of the girls left Chibok in Borno state on Friday and arrived in Abuja on Saturday night and were reunited with the girls at the church on Sunday for the first time since that fateful day in April 2014.

Two buses conveyed the parents from Chibok. The chairman of Chibok Girls Parents Association, Yakubu Nkenke, had said that the girls had eventually been identified by their parents.

The Chairman of Chibok Local Government, Mr. Yaya Yarakawa, confirmed the identification of all the girls and said those doubting their authenticity “must have sinister motive’’.

He expressed satisfaction with the role played by the government. “I am travelling to Abuja with all the parents of the freed girls, all of us are here. We are overwhelmed with joy that our girls have been found alive. I cannot talk more because we are approaching security check- points,” he said.