Kidnapped, but released Zamfara school girls are okay health wise – Commissioner

The 279 girls of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Talata Mafara local government area of Zamfara, released by kidnappers on Tuesday, are all in good health,

Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Yahaya Kanoma, made the declaration in Gusau on Wednesday while giving update on the health status of the schoolgirls abducted last Friday.

Kanoma said after receiving the victims, the state government set up a medical team to thoroughly check the students’ health conditions.

“While in captivity, they underwent different types of pressure.

“They trekked long distances; the environment in which they were kept was traumatizing and the foods they ate were not good for human consumption.

“They have now undergone thorough medical check-ups. Fortunately for us, the students were not harmed and there was no record of sexual abuse or assault on any of the school girls.

“We want to assure the general public that our children are in good health,’’ the commissioner said.

Kanoma thanked the office of the wife of the governor, Hajiya Aisha Matawalle, for its kind gesture to the girls.

In her remarks, the representative of the office, Hajiya Fatima Musa, said the governor’s wife advised the girls not to lose hope in furthering their education.

She described the abduction as a threat to the future of girl child education and advised parents not to allow the experience to deter them from sending their girls to school.

“We are seriously concerned about the issue of Gender Based Violence (GBV).

“We are happy that none of the victims was sexually or physically assaulted by their assailants,’’ Hajiya Musa said.