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Emotional Family Reunion: Chibok Girls Meet Their Parents At Thanksgiving Church Services (PHOTOS)

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Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s minister of information, has appealed to commentators and analysts to refrain from making statements that can jeopardize the release of the Chibok girls who are still in captivity.

The minister made the appeal on Sunday, October 16, 2016 in Abuja at a special thanksgiving church service and reunion of the 21 girls with their families.

“They are many reckless analysts and commentators who are not helping the situation. We still have many of our children in captivity. Therefore we have to be careful with the kind of comments that we make. We must not make comments that will make the release of these girls difficult or impossible,” he said.

Mohammed, who quoted from the Bible saying, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them”, also took time out to mock the naysayers who doubted the sincerity and commitment of the Buhari administration to the safe release and the reunion of the abducted Chibok girls with their parents were disappointed.

“When the president said that the Boko Haram saga will not be closed until all the girls abducted have been released and reunited with their families safely, those who doubted did not believe us so we thank God this day has come,” he said.

Mohammed appealed to the parents of the girls who are yet to be freed to continue to exercise patience, saying, “This is the beginning and we are very optimistic that very soon another batch bigger than this will be released. I want to assure you that these negotiations are ongoing even as we speak.”

The chairman of the parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, Yakubu Nkeki, re-echoed the Minister’s plea by appealing to the people to stop spreading rumours, particularly on the social media, that will put the lives of the girls at risk.

He debunked some reports alleging that 18 of the 21 free girls are pregnant even as he denied that the girls were radicalized by Boko Haram.

Mr. Nkeki thanked President Buhari for summoning the courage and the political will that eventually led to the release of the abducted girls.

In her testimony, the spokesperson of the released girls, Miss Gloria Dame, who recalled their ordeal in captivity, thanked God and all those who made their safe release and reunion with their families possible.

Miss Dame, who spoke in Hausa, prayed that God will ensure the safe release of the other girls still in captivity.

“We never thought we will ever see this moment but God has made it possible for us. I want to appeal to all of us to fast and pray for the safe release of those left behind,” she said.

Dr. Shiktra Kwali, who delivered the sermon at the thanksgiving service, told the girls that as they start a new life in freedom, they should not allow the experience of the past to weigh them down, and urged them to remain steadfast in serving the Lord, who has not forsaken them even in captivity.

Several ministers of God, including the president of the Church of Brethren in Nigeria (EYN), Reverend Joel Bilili, offered prayers for the girls.

The high-point of the occasion was the reunion between the parents and their daughters. Tears flowed freely as parents took turns to identify their daughters, while one woman simply carried her daughter on her back in happiness.

The ceremony ended with an identification parade, as each of the freed girls identified her parents who in turn made brief comments, with many of them praising President Muhammadu Buhari for ensuring the safe
release of the girls.

Click on any image below to enlarge

Some of the Chibok school girls and their parents and relatives recently released from captivity
dancing at a special thanksgiving service held in Abuja on Sunday, October 16, 2016 | Fed. Min Of Information One of the recent released Chibok school girls with her relative and child
at a special thanksgiving service held in Abuja on Sunday, October 16, 2016 | Fed. Min Of Information Some of the Chibok school girls and their parents and relatives recently released from captivity
dancing at a special thanksgiving service held in Abuja on Sunday, October 16, 2016 | Fed. Min Of Information One of the recent released Chibok school girls with her mother
at a special thanksgiving service held in Abuja on Sunday, October 16, 2016 | Fed. Min Of Information One of the recent released Chibok school girls with her mother
at a special thanksgiving service held in Abuja on Sunday, October 16, 2016 | Fed. Min Of Information Some of the Chibok school girls recently released from captivity
dancing at a special thanksgiving service held in Abuja on Sunday, October 16, 2016 | Fed. Min Of Information From left: Rev. Joel Billi, Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Dr. Anne Okorafor, Director Medical Services
of the DSS at a special thanksgiving service held in Abuja in honour of the released Chibok girls on Sunday, October 16, 2016 | Fed. Min Of Information Some of the Chibok school girls recently released from captivity
dancing at a special thanksgiving service held in Abuja on Sunday, October 16, 2016 | Fed. Min Of Information Some of the Chibok school girls and their parents and relatives recently released from captivity
dancing at a special thanksgiving service held in Abuja on Sunday, October 16, 2016 | Fed. Min Of Information Some of the Chibok school girls and their parents and relatives recently released from captivity
dancing at a special thanksgiving service held in Abuja on Sunday, October 16, 2016 | Fed. Min Of Information chibok-girls-reunion7 chibok-girls-reunion6 chibok-girls-reunion5 chibok-girls-reunion4 reunion-chibok-girls4 reunion-chibok-girls3 reunion-chibok-girls2 reunion-chibok-girls1 reunion-chibok-girls chibok-girls-reunion3 chibok-girls-reunion2 chibok-grils-reunion2 chibok-girls-reunion1 chibok-girls-reunion

The post Emotional Family Reunion: Chibok Girls Meet Their Parents At Thanksgiving Church Services (PHOTOS) appeared first on The Trent.


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