While some of the parents expressed doubts over the authenticity of the video because they could not find their daughters in it, some others claimed that the video gave them hope that their daughters were still alive.
A parent of one of the abducted girls, Mallam Awana Babagana said with the release of the video the parents believe their daughters were still alive and called on the Federal Government to do everything possible to secure the safe release of their daughters. Continue...
He said: “I have seen the video but I couldn’t identify my daughter. I hope they are the ones, we will keep on praying until they are released.”
Another parent who resides in Maiduguri but declined his identity for security reasons said he had the opportunity to watch the video, but said that he couldn’t identify any of his missing daughters even as he alleged that the footage showing Shekau as leader of the sect is questionable.
Also, another father of one of the kidnapped girls has said that he would rather let his child die than have her convert to Islam or be exchanged for Boko Haram prisoners. Speaking to the Telegraph of London, the man — who is not named to protect his child’s identity — said:
“I have not yet seen the video, but I am not really interested in what Boko Haram’s demands are,” he said.
“My daughter is a Christian, she will never change. I would rather she died as a Christian than convert to Islam.”
A prisoner exchange, he warned, would simply encourage more kidnappings.
“I don’t want a prisoner exchange either; our daughters are not prisoners, and they should not be exchanged for anyone,” he said.
“Let the government try to rescue them. If they have a prisoner exchange, that will look like the government is giving in to Boko Haram, and it will just encourage them to take more hostages. They will never stop.”
Another parent, Lawan Zannah said that his sisters called him to switch on his television set to view the video, showing the alleged school girls on BBC cable television but according to him, there was no light, as such he couldn’t watch the programme.
“I have not watched it, but I hope they are the ones. It gladdened my heart when I heard that they showed the video on BBC, that means they are still alive. I call on the Federal Government to do everything possible to secure their release. We also call on you and other Nigerians to join us in praying for the safe release of our daughters”, Zannah stated.
Commenting on the video, a Maiduguri resident Alhaji Hassan Ibrahim said that the video was not that of the school girls, as according to him, the video was showing that some of them were over 30 years of age, while the authenticity of the sect leader was even doubtful.
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