In a communique signed by Interim Chairman Monday Ubani and Interim Secretary Peter Claver, following its general meeting in Lagos on Sunday, the group welcomed as “refreshing and reassuring” the release of 21 Chibok schoolgirls held in captivity for over two years by the Boko Haram militant group.
The Igbo Conscience (TIC) on Monday congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari's government for the “tremendous milestone” it has achieved in the task of securing the country.
In a communique signed by Interim Chairman Monday Ubani and Interim Secretary Peter Claver, following its general meeting in Lagos on Sunday, the group welcomed as “refreshing and reassuring” the release of 21 Chibok schoolgirls held in captivity for over two years by the Boko Haram militant group.
“It is our belief that the release rekindles hope that the remaining Chibok schoolgirls will soon gain freedom and join their [kith and kin] from whom they have been separated for a very long time,” it said, adding that the security of lives and properties rank foremost in the priority list of any serious nation.
“We therefore believe that President Buhari's achievements in security will lead Nigeria's recover the process and jump-start the country's real March to greatness,” TIC said.
Congratulating President Buhari on what it called a “great feat,” the group said the release of the 21 girls elicits faith and confidence on the country's leadership to bring to an end the harrowing abduction experience and secure Nigerians from such violent criminal groups as Boko Haram, and urged him not to relent on his determination to secure the release of the remaining Chibok schoolgirls so as to end what has become an embarrassing national and international nightmare.
“TIC salutes the courage and bravery of Nigerian soldiers that have been in the forefront to rescue the entirety of the country from the clutches of Boko Haram,” the statement continued. “We note that from holding a sizeable percentage of the Nigerian landmass, from constituting real and potent threat to the lives and properties of Nigerians in every part of the country, Boko Haram has significantly been downgraded to a waning militia group that lives on carrying out occasional firefights in remote border communities in Borno State. We owe this significant onslaught to the commitment of Nigerian leadership and the bravery and courage of the Nigerian military. We urge the gallant Nigerian soldiers not to relent in ensuring that Nigeria is rid of such militant groups and their nefarious activities.”
