#BringBackOurGirls protest in Nigeria. (Google Images: 2014)

The internet is buzzing with news that two of the 276 schoolgirls kidnapped from a Christian school by Boko Haram eight years ago in Chibok, Nigeria, have been found. The BBC is reporting the Nigerian army has found two more of the female students abducted by Boko Haram. Both abductees were found with children and gave birth while in captivity. Other victims of the mass abduction have described being forced to convert to Islam and marry the group’s fighters.

The two abductees were found at a military medical facility. The 276 girls were abducted from their school dormitories April 14, 2014 by notorious Islamic militant group Boko Haram. Fifty-six of the girls were able to get away from their captors by jumping off the transport and running into the bushes, while the others remained in captivity and were forced to convert to Islam and marry their captors. The brazen abduction became an international cause with political leaders, celebrities and activists calling for their safe return.

Politicians, celebrities and activists campaigned for the return of the abducted Chibok school girls in 2014, joining the international effort founded by Nigerian activist Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili (Photo: Google Images)

Between 2016 and 2018, three Chibok girls were found or rescued in the Sambisa forest hideout of Boko Haram by the Nigerian military, while 103 were freed following negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram. The freed girls were rehabilitated at a government facility and sent to an American school in Nigeria.

Economist and activist Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, founder of #BringBackOurGirls campaign. (Photo: Google Images)

Nigerian activist and former World Bank vice-president Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili led the global campaign to free Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram extremists. Ezekwesili started the #BringBackOurGirls campaign and co-founded Transparency, one of the world’s leading organizations dedicated to combating government corruption. In 2018, Ezekwesili unsuccessfully ran for president of Nigeria.

Read more about the abduction on The Burton Wire.

This article was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Instagram or Twitter @Ntellectual or @TheBurtonWire. 
Previous articleBrittney Griner: More Troubling Details Emerge as Trial Resumes
Next articleArts Legend Melba Moore to Receive Presidential Award
TheBurtonWire.com is the premiere online destination for people who think for themselves. This blog offers news from the African Diaspora, culture that is produced by often overlooked populations and opinion that is informed and based on fact. Tired of the onslaught of websites and talking heads that regurgitate what people want to hear, TheBurtonWire.com is a publication that elevates news and perspectives that people need to hear. TheBurtonWire.com is for individual thinkers who understand that they are part of a larger collective. What is this collective? Free thinking people that care about the world, who will not be categorized or boxed in by society or culture and are interested in issues and topics that defy stereotypes and conventional wisdom.