Parents of the abductees confirmed that the girls shown in the video were their children.
A video showing 15 Chibok schoolgirls held captive by Boko Haram has surfaced two years after their abduction.
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Apart from 57 girls who managed to escape, no sign of the remaining 219 captives had appeared until now.
CNN acquired the “proof of life” video, which was filmed on December 25, 2015. In the video, the girls state their names to the camera.
At the end of the video, one girl, Naomi Zakaria, said, “I am speaking on 25 December 2015, on behalf of all the Chibok girls and we are all well.”
Parents of the abductees confirmed that the girls shown in the video were their children.
One mother immediately recognized her daughter when she was shown the video.
“I felt like removing her from the screen,” a tearful Rifkatu Ayuba said of her now 17-year-old daughter Saratu.
A woman from Chibok Community also recognized the girls from the video.
“I saw the girls and for sure they are Chibok girls. I recognize some of them because we are from the same area,” she stated.
The woman added that the girls “were not like this” two years ago and “they have changed.”
The administrations of both former President Goodluck Jonathan and President Muhammadu Buhari have been scrutinized for their failure to rescue the girls. Protestors have taken to the streets of Abuja to demand the return of the abductees, while the Federal Government hosted a roundtable on the issue yesterday.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo asked that Nigerians be patient with the government, assuring them that the safe return of the Chibok girls is one of its top priorities.
“At every security council meeting that I have attended, the president has always been concerned about the Chibok girls. He thinks of how this can be done quickly,” he said.
“But it’s a very delicate issue and we cannot say we can deal with it next week. Every rescue attempt must take the safety of the girls into consideration,” Mr. Osinbajo added.