--- description: President-elect Muhammadu Buhari said on Monday that he plans to do everything he can to rescue the 276 girls abducted by Boko Haram title: Nigeria's President-Elect Vows to Save Kidnapped Girls image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltace227e61e34648e/6987eae5a988ca15376b02a8/boko-haram-bring-back-our-girls.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Nigeria](/tag/nigeria/) ## Nigeria Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # New Efforts Promised to Find Girls Kidnapped by Boko Haram by [Kevin McSpadden](/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2015 7:55 AM CUT  People march on a street of Abuja, Nigeria, during a silent protest on April 13, 2015, calling on the government to rescue the Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped a year ago People march on a street of Abuja, Nigeria, during a silent protest on April 13, 2015, calling on the government to rescue the Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped a year agoSunday Alamba—AP by [Kevin McSpadden](/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2015 7:55 AM CUT Marking the one-year anniversary of the kidnapping of 276 girls by Boko Haram, President-elect Muhammadu Buhari said on Tuesday that his government plans to do everything in its power to rescue them. However, Buhari was also careful not to overpromise. “We do not know if the Chibok girls can be rescued,” he [said](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/14/us-nigeria-bokoharam-idUSKBN0N502320150414 "undefined"), according to Reuters. “Their whereabouts remain unknown.” The kidnappings grabbed international attention, in large part because of the viral hashtag campaign #BringBackOurGirls, and highlighted the misery being wrought by Boko Haram in its attempt to establish a religious caliphate in northern Nigeria. “Let us use this anniversary to remind each other that the attack on Chibok was an attack on the dreams and aspirations of our young people,” Buhari said. Nigeria’s outgoing President, Goodluck Jonathan, was roundly criticized for his government’s slow response to the tragedy, which he claims was due to concerns that Boko Haram would kill the girls. On Tuesday, Amnesty International released a [report](https://www.amnesty.org/en/articles/news/2015/04/nigeria-abducted-women-and-girls-forced-to-join-boko-haram-attacks/ "undefined") claiming that Boko Haram had abducted at least 2,000 women and girls since the beginning of 2014, with many being forced into sexual slavery or combat roles. The report also estimated that over 5,500 civilians had been killed during that time. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/14/us-nigeria-bokoharam-idUSKBN0N502320150414 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3820654/boko-haram-chibok-girls-muhammadu-buhari-bringbackourgirls-nigeria/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3820654/boko-haram-chibok-girls-muhammadu-buhari-bringbackourgirls-nigeria/"},"headline":"New Efforts Promised to Find Girls Kidnapped by Boko Haram","datePublished":"2015-04-14T07:55:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:22:27.268Z","description":"President-elect Muhammadu Buhari says kidnapping was \"an attack on the dreams and aspirations of our young people\"","url":"https://time.com/3820654/boko-haram-chibok-girls-muhammadu-buhari-bringbackourgirls-nigeria/","keywords":["Nigeria","kidnapping","Boko Haram","goodluck jonathan","bringbackourgirls","Muhammadu Buhari"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltace227e61e34648e/6987eae5a988ca15376b02a8/boko-haram-bring-back-our-girls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin McSpadden","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltace227e61e34648e/6987eae5a988ca15376b02a8/boko-haram-bring-back-our-girls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"People march on a street during a silent protest calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped girls of the government secondary school in Chibok, who were kidnapped a year ago, in Abuja, Nigeria, Monday, April 13, 2015","caption":"People march on a street during a silent protest calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped girls of the government secondary school in Chibok, who were kidnapped a year ago, in Abuja, Nigeria, Monday, April 13, 2015","creditText":"Sunday Alamba—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nigeria/","name":"Nigeria"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3820654/boko-haram-chibok-girls-muhammadu-buhari-bringbackourgirls-nigeria/","name":"New Efforts Promised to Find Girls Kidnapped by Boko Haram"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Nigeria's Stolen Girls Are Forgotten Amidst Controversial Elections","description":"It has been nearly one year since Boko Haram militants kidnapped 290 schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/DTpVvoOf/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-27T15:32:38.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DTpVvoOf.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3820654/boko-haram-chibok-girls-muhammadu-buhari-bringbackourgirls-nigeria/","duration":"PT4M51S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3820654/boko-haram-chibok-girls-muhammadu-buhari-bringbackourgirls-nigeria/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```