Manny Ita –
Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is facing intense scrutiny following public remarks suggesting that some of the schoolgirls abducted from Chibok in 2014 have refused to return home due to emotional ties with their abductors. Speaking during a recent visit to the United States, the First Lady indicated that government rescue efforts have encountered unexpected resistance from some of the remaining captives. “Even those girls kidnapped during Chibok, they are still trying to rescue them, until they learned recently that most of them fell in love with their abductors,” Tinubu stated, according to reports. “You know, they refuse to come back.”
The comments have ignited a wave of backlash from human rights analysts and rescue advocates who argue that such statements oversimplify the psychological trauma and coercive environment of long-term captivity. Emmanuel Ogebe, an international human rights lawyer with extensive experience in the Chibok cases, described the First Lady’s narrative as “untenable.” He noted that many of the girls were minors at the time of their abduction and have been held under extreme duress for over a decade. “They were secondary school students, many below the age of consent, and held at gunpoint under conditions of coercion,” Ogebe stated in response to the reports.
Psychological experts have further warned against interpreting a victim’s apparent attachment to their captor as genuine consent or affection. Dr. Gloria Puldu, a prominent advocate for the release of Leah Sharibu and other captives, emphasized that survival mechanisms often force victims to adapt to their surroundings. “Victims may appear to empathize with their captors as a survival mechanism,” Puldu said, adding that such reactions should not be used as a justification for halting rescue operations. “These girls were abducted as minors and subjected to years of indoctrination and coercion. That is no justification for abandoning efforts to rescue them.”
The Chibok abduction remains one of the most significant security failures in modern Nigerian history, with approximately 91 of the original 276 girls still unaccounted for after twelve years. While some have escaped or been released through negotiations, many who returned have faced severe social stigma and difficulty reintegrating into their communities. Critics argue that the First Lady’s remarks risk further marginalizing these survivors and may complicate diplomatic efforts to secure the release of those still held in the Sambisa Forest and surrounding regions.
