80 schoolgirls rescued from conflict areas now in tertiary institutions – FG

80 schoolgirls rescued from conflict areas now in tertiary institutions – FG

The Federal Government says 80 out of many girls rescued from armed conflict areas in Nigeria are now in tertiary institutions and undergoing studies.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs. Monilola Udoh, disclosed this during a meeting with the UN Security Council Working Group on Children Encountered in the course of Armed Conflict, led by UNICEF’s Christian Monduate.

Monduate came with Daniel Ohlstein, Kaitlin Brush, Christian Monduate, Ariane Lignier, Nicolas Martin-AchardAndreg Sarushein on a fact-finding mission on how Nigeria is protecting children caught up in situations of armed conflict or during military operations.

“At present, eighty (80) of the rescued Special Girls are in various tertiary institutions undergoing their studies,” she said.

According to Udoh, the Federal Government, to ensure the security of children in Nigeria, has ratified the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD).

“The Child Rights Act has also been domesticated in 35 states of the federation,” she stated.

She also said, “The attacks on schools during armed conflict started globally in 2009. In Nigeria, the major attacks began 2014-2015 in the North-East as the result of the activities of terrorist groups, which left so many children out of school.

“It would be recalled that the Nigerian Government, through the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, earlier on the 25th of March, 2017, fruitfully engaged with International Partners, precisely the Country Representatives of UN agencies, including the UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR, UN WOMEN, and the UN OCHA in support of the completion of the education of the ‘recused Special Girls’ (Chibok Girls).

“In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and the Presidential Committee on Victims’ Support Fund, the ministry succeeded in re-enrolling the rescued ‘Special Girls’ and retaining them in school, including supporting them to tertiary education in the country.”