Chibok girls prevented from spending Christmas with their family - Parents lament

- The 21 freed Chibok girls brought home for Christmas were prevented from mingling with their families

- The girls were kept in the home of the member representing Chibok in the Borno state House of Assembly

- Their parents accused the government of breaking their hearts this festive period

After almost three years in Boko Haram captivity, the 21 Chibok girls who were brought home for Christmas were prevented from celebrating with their families, several sources disclosed.

The girls were brought back to Chibok on Friday, December 23, under heavy escort to spend Christmas at home.

The Punch reports that instead of allowing them celebrate with their loved ones, they were kept inside the house of a local parliamentarian for several days, their families and relatives lamented.

21 freed Chibok girls were brought home for Christmas

Report has it that the girls were not given permission either to attend Christmas mass and this did not go down well with their relatives and Chibok residents.

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One of the fathers, who asked not to be identified queried: “What is the point of bringing them home if we as their parents can’t see them?”

According to one of the mothers, the government deliberately broke their hearts during the festive season.

“We are a community and we take these girls as ours whether they are related to us or not,” Ayuba Alamson, a local resident said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, a spokesman for the presidency Garba Shehu said the security operatives in charge of protecting the girls misinterpreted the instructions given to them on the objective of the trip.

He said instructions have “been given from headquarters for access by the parents to be eased.”

The 21 were among more than 200 schoolgirls who were released in October after being in Boko Haram captivity since April 2014.

READ ALSO: Chibok: N500 million meant for rebuilding school seems to have vanished

Their kidnap had that sent shockwaves across the world and sparked a global Twitter campaign under the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

Some of the girls have been freed while several others are still being held captive by the dreaded sect.

Meanwhile, a black American billionaire, Robert Smith, is currently sponsoring the education of 24 rescued Chibok girls at the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola.

Watch the Chibok girls return home below.