Borno State women rose yesterday against last
week’s abduction of 234 girls at the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok.
They demanded unconditional release of the
girls, whose abduction Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka described as the
“fatwa” of our time. He criticised President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of
the security situation in the country.
The concerned women in Borno – BAOBAB for
Women Rights – demanded that the insurgents should unconditionally release the
students if they (insurgents) truly believe in God.
Prof. Hauwa Biu, the spokesperson for the group,
told a news conference in Maiduguri that the abduction was a violation of the
girls’ human rights and crime against humanity.
“Women in Borno are calling on the insurgents
to please release all the girls in their custody without harming them,” she said.
Mrs. Biu also appealed to the insurgents to
lay down their arms and hold dialogue with the government.
“We assure them of our motherly support
toward rehabilitating them when the need arises,” she said.
After the abduction of the girls on April 15,
many of their parents stormed the road for a fruitless journey to the Sambisa
forest near border with Cameroon where they are believed to have been taken to
by their Boko Haram captors.
“We are ready to embark on another search in
the forest with the parents of the abducted girls if we can have enough
security backing,” Mrs. Biu said, adding:
“Our target is not to fight the abductors but
we want to beg them to release the girls in the name of the God that we all
worship.”
Mrs. Biu urged security agents to use sophisticated
weapons in detecting the location of the abductors.
She condemned other violent campaigns by the
insurgents especially in recent times.
“Women in Borno also condemn violent attacks
on schools which deny children their rights to learn in safe environment,
thereby jeopardising their future.
“We commend the efforts of Borno and Federal
Governments as well as youths/ vigilantes in addressing the current insurgency
in the country.
“However, bearing in mind the continuous
attacks on schools, we appeal for the provision of adequate security to all
schools so as to have a safe learning environment for our children.’’
Heavens , the security system in Nigeria is a failure. 200 girls missing for more than a week and not even a sign . They must be in Bermuda Triangle
ReplyDeletePls I dn't you understand the system of govmnt jona will be blame cos is the cheft security of this our contry due to his incapability and selfishness he dn't no how to control his government that is why thing are happening in this way but GOD will put all this in control oneday.
ReplyDeleteThese people who harboured this killers for several years, without reporting to security officers. Kept silent when churches and xtians were massacred in the state, now that these monsters have unleashed themselves against them, its Jonathan's fault. Wole Soyinka are you not getting your egunje from rivers state anymore, its now Borno state
ReplyDeleteTrue talk. From Mitasini riots to Sharia riots to beheading of Ibo boy etc they kept silent and gave tarcit support. I still remember Sheik Gumi's interview in the late eighties or early nineties. It was okay to them because it was only christians being killed then. They did not know that their children were imbibing a dangerous ideology. I remember a female muslim student in law school telling her southern classmate from the university how Sharia must be entrenched in Kaduna state not caring that this man had just lost all he had in the riots. He asked her if after studing law she wants to be in purdah. She vehemently said yes she wants to be in purdah this was an educated person so imagine to what extent the uneducated would go. Now BH is saying they should nolonger go to school and it is Jonathan's fault. God is watching. They should go on their knees and ask for forgivness oh and leave Jonathan alone he is trying.
DeleteGod shld have mercy on Nigeria and deliver us in Jesus Name
ReplyDelete