Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) whereabouts and (b) wellbeing of the Nigerian women and girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from Chibok in 2014.

The UK Government condemns the abduction and continued captivity of children by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) in North East Nigeria. This includes the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls, around 100 of whom are understood still to be missing. I [Andrew Mitchell] raised this case specifically with incoming Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, in December 2022. Through the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership, we have also provided mentoring and capacity building for the Nigerian Police Force to improve their response to kidnappings. We remain committed to supporting the Nigerian Government to secure the release of all those held captive.