Nigerian president optimistic abducted persons will be rescued safely

LAGOS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- All abducted persons by insurgent groups, including the schoolgirls from the Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe, would be rescued safely, President Muhammadu Buhari said Monday.

The Nigerian leader spoke in Abuja, Nigeria's capital when he received three rescued lecturers of University of Maiduguri and 10 Police Officers' wives at the presidential villa.

He told his guests that he had directed all security agencies to ensure safety of schools and students in the North-East region and other parts of the country.

Buhari said his administration would not relent until it rescued all those abducted.

According to him, the rescue of the abducted persons on Feb. 10 was a 'very huge relief' to him and to all Nigerians.

The president told the rescued persons that apart from their family members, every peace-loving Nigerian also prayed for their safety and wished them early release from the hold of their captors.

The Nigerian leader also assured that the Federal Government would work closely with all stakeholders to rehabilitate and resettle all those displaced as a result of insurgency.

The rescued persons had been under the custody of the Department of State Service in Abuja where they were examined by a team of doctors and psychologists.

The rescued lecturers were abducted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Magumeri, Borno, while the police officers' wives were kidnapped in a raid by the militant group on a military/police convoy on Damboa road, near Maiduguri, in June 2017.

Their release after series of negotiations, according to an earlier statement issued by a presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, was facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Enditem