Not less than 17 parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls have died due to trauma associated with the abduction.

This is even as Senate President, Bukola Saraki, called for concerted efforts by governments, security agencies, religious and community leaders, to rescue the remaining 112 Chibok girls and the Dapchi schoolgirl, Leah Sharibu, from captivity.

The 276 schoolgirls were abducted in a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State, by the Boko Haram Islamist sect on April 14, 2014.

Co-ordinator of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement in Lagos State, Mrs. Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, made the disclosure at the weekend at the 4th anniversary of the abduction with theme: “Four years too long,” an event marked with Christian and Muslim prayers.

She said though some of the girls had regained freedom, the fact that 112 of the girls were still with Boko Haram was too long.

Muhammed-Oyebode, daughter of the assassinated Head of State, General Muritala Ramat Muhammed, expressed shock that some queried BBOG’s struggle for the release of the abducted girls.

This, she opined was a tragic reflection of the Nigerian society’s desensitization to evil,“the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls and Dapchi schoolgirls is an attack on the soul of Nigeria. The kidnapping of innocent girls from school is totally unacceptable and we demand collective action to fight this monster in Nigeria. The rights of children, women and girls must be provided for, protected and promoted as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The prayer session was led by Pastor Ituah Ighodalo of Trinity House Church, Lagos, and Alhaji Tajudeen Adebayo, Imam of Falomo Police Mosque.

Saraki in a statement yesterday by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in Abuja, said even though four years had elapsed since the sad incident of the Chibok girls’ kidnap, it must not dampen efforts being made to see the girls rescued and reunited with their families and loved ones.

He called on the parents to remain steadfast as government would never relent in efforts to see their daughters back home safely.

The Senate President also urged security agencies to keep people abreast of developments about the issue to avoid the speculations and talks like the one insinuating that many of the girls may have died.