Since the heart-wrenching kidnap of their children some 99 days ago, not less than 11 parents of the over 200 Nigerian schoolgirls have died untimely.
The girls, kidnapped from their school in Chibok, a town in Borno State by members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect more than three months ago, lost a significant number of the parents to attacks directly or indirectly linked to the activities of the sect.
An attack carried out by Boko Haram insurgents in a village in Borno called Kautakari sometime in July left over 50 people left and seven of those killed are fathers of the kidnapped girls, most of whom remain in captivity till date.
Apart from those killed in that attack, four other parents have had their deaths identifying as resulting from heart failure, high blood pressure and other illnesses which Chibok community and activists involved in the #BringBackOursGirls campaign link to the mass abduction of the girls 100 days ago.
According to the community leader of Chibok, Pogu Bitrus, “One father of two of the girls kidnapped just went into a kind of coma and kept repeating the names of his daughters, until life left him.”
Chibok is cut off because of frequent attacks on the roads that are studded with burned out vehicles. Commercial flights no longer go into the troubled area and the government has halted charter flights.
57 of the girls, who managed to escape from Boko Haram weeks after they were kidnapped as well as about 160 parents are reportedly in a meeting with President. Goodluck Jonathan who has been severely condemned by Nigerians and the international community over what has been described as a lackadaisical attitude by the Federal Government over the matter.