More than a decade after one of Nigeria’s most heartbreaking tragedies, twelve survivors of the 2014 Chibok abduction are on the verge of a milestone that once seemed impossible collecting university degrees.
The twelve young women are set to graduate from the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola, closing a chapter defined by captivity and opening one defined by achievement.
AUN President Dewayne Frazier, speaking to journalists on the university campus Wednesday, called the moment extraordinary in its significance.
“Their journey from captivity to a university degree has captured worldwide attention as a victory over adversity,” he said, describing the upcoming graduation as a testament to resilience, hope, and the strength of the human spirit.
Frazier tied the occasion to the university’s broader mission, arguing that their story proves individuals can rebuild themselves even after severe trauma. He credited the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs for funding the students’ academic journey.
The graduates now join a long but still incomplete story. On the night of April 14, 2014, gunmen abducted 276 girls from Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State. Fifty-seven escaped that same night. Many others have since been freed through negotiations and military operations. But more than 80 remain unaccounted for to this day.
For those crossing the graduation stage, their degrees carry a weight no certificate can fully capture — proof that education, as Frazier put it, remains “the most proven tool for healing and transformation.”
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