The Nation Newspaper

Tag: BBOG

  • Chibok girls: #BBOG marches to Aso Rock Tuesday

    Chibok girls: #BBOG marches to Aso Rock Tuesday

    Members of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) will embark on a protest march to the Presidential Villa on Tuesday.

    The group will march to Aso Rock to express their disappointment with the Federal Government’s silence on the fate of the remaining 113 Chibok girls.

    The Spokesperson for the group, Sesugh Akume, disclosed these in a statement on Monday.

    He said:  “As earlier indicated, Tuesday, 1 August, our movement shall be marching to the State House to among other things express our disappointment and press our demands about our missing 113 #ChibokGirls.

    “For three months since May, the federal government has not given any updates on the return of our 113 missing #ChibokGirls. The parents, families, community, and the public at large have been left in the dark wondering. This is unacceptable. Our march is also intended to wake the federal government up and prevent it from relapsing and sinking into inertia and complacency.”

     

     

  • #BBOG marks 1,200 days of Chibok girls’ abduction

    #BBOG marks 1,200 days of Chibok girls’ abduction

    Members of the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy group on Thursday marked the 1,200 days of Chibok girls’ abduction.

    The girls were abducted from their hostels by Boko Haram militants on April 14, 2014.

    The group, in a statement signed by its leaders – Aisha Yesufu and Oby Ezekwesili – said the anniversary is not just a reminder for the grieving parents of the 113 missing girls.

    According to the group, it has been 1,200 days of continuous anguish for the abducted girls and their parents.

    It said:” Today is Day 1,200 since the abduction of our 276 #ChibokGirls in their school, Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok. 57 girls escaped and 219 were missing for over two years. A total of 106 are back but 113 remain with terrorists for 1,200 today. It is also Day 785 that our 113 #ChibokGirls are missing under President Muhammadu Buhari’s watch.

    “In his inaugural speech on May 29, 2015, President Buhari pledged, saying ‘but we cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents. This government will do all it can to rescue them alive.’ This same pledge was repeated to the Chibok parents by the President on at least two occasions in our presence as a movement. It must not be reduced to a partial outcome for some parents.

    “Rebecca Samuel, mother of Saraya Samuel cried out, ‘Three years is not three minutes, three years is not three hours, is not three days, is not three weeks, is not three months.’ 1200 days is not just a number for the grieving parents of our 113 missing #ChibokGirls, it has been 1,200 days of continuous anguish, 1200 days of captivity for our girls.

    “We are dismayed by the absolute lack of capacity to learn from previous mistakes in handling parents, families, and the public who deserve a system of update on rescue operations. Likewise the abysmally poor attitude to the dignity of life by our governments as expressed in the continuing actions of kidnappers and terrorists as seen with the six Lagos schoolboys and the women abducted on Borno-Adamawa road. Not only that, the increased spate of terrorist attack in the northeast and unfortunate departures especially of our men and women in uniform.

    “As part of our duty as a citizens’ movement to ensure that the federal government never forgets, never becomes complacent, never relapses into inertia as they are always want to, our movement shall be back on the street on Tuesday,  August 1 on a march to the State House, from 9:00 a.m. Our last series of activities were in April, almost four months ago after which we settled for our ever daily sit-outs at the Unity Fountain, watching, observing, and giving time. We are convinced that we have met with every benchmark of reasonableness and deem it necessarily to engage thus at this time.”

  • #BBOG condemns FG, Military over silence on Police women abduction

    #BBOG condemns FG, Military over silence on Police women abduction

    …Group compares governments’ reaction to that of Chibok girls

     

     

    Members of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) advocacy have condemned the Federal Government (FG) and Military on its continues silence on the abduction of 16 Police women by Boko Haram insurgents in Maiduguri.

    The group says it is worried that 13 days after the reported tragedy, the federal government and military have maintained an eerie silence on the matter.

    In a statement signed by leaders of the group Oby Ezekwesili and Aisha Yesufu, #BBOG noted that it was 4 days after the unfortunate claim by the terrorists and more than 1 week after the incident that the Nigeria Police Force made its first statement, denying the women.

    The group added that for them there is a painful sense of déjà vu that compelled them to issue the statement. Assessing how the authorities have handled the latest incident of abduction, to them, it appears 3 years on, another #ChibokGirls-like tragedy is happening all over again.

    The group stated, “Almost 2 weeks ago, on 20 June, the media widely reported that a security convoy of vehicles conveying military and police personnel was attacked by the terrorists 30 kilometres from Maiduguri on the Maiduguri-Damboa federal highway. Part of the convoy was said to be civilians and personnel of Nigeria police travelling for the burial rites of a deceased police colleague. In some of the reports, eyewitness accounts relayed that 16 women were abducted by the terrorists from among the burial convoy.

    “Our movement is worried that 13 days after this reported tragedy, the federal government, the military have maintained an eerie silence on the matter. The ominous silence is made more troubling when 4 days after the attack and alleged abduction of the women from the burial convoy, the Boko Haram terrorists released a video in which they took responsibility and paraded the women they claimed were the police women, victims of that attack.

    “We also noted that it was 4 days after the unfortunate claim by the terrorists and more than 1 week after the incident that the Nigeria Police Force made its first statement. In said statement, it out rightly denied that any police personnel was abducted, that the women in the released video were not their staff although the statement confirmed that two (2) of their personnel were missing.

    “For us the #BringBackOurGirls movement there is a painful sense of déjà vu that has compelled us to issue this statement. Assessing how our authorities have handled this latest incident of abduction, it does appear that 3 years on, another #ChibokGirls-like tragedy is happening all over again.

    “We recount how a little over 3 years ago when our #ChibokGirls were abducted, there was no official response from the federal government and the military for several days. Then came the news from the military that all 129 school girls (the wrong number assumed to have been abducted at that time) had been rescued with only 8 presumed missing. The military was forced by wailing affected families to recant this wrong assertion a few days after when evidence to the contrary proved that 276 school girls were abducted, 57 escaped on their own with no involvement of the military and 219 had become captives of terrorists.

    “The similarity of that 3-year old tragic episode seems to be replaying itself in that Nigeria Police statement of Wednesday, 28 June 2017 on the alleged abduction of our policewomen. When the abduction happened in Chibok in 2014, some officials of the federal government did in fact deny that the school girls existed in the first place referring to their abduction as a scam. And yet, from media reports, the policewomen were said to be on a national assignment to bury their deceased colleague when eyewitnesses to their attack saw them taken away in a truck just like it happened to our ChibokGirls on that night of 14 April 2014.

    “We recall also another unfortunate in which the Nigerian air force denied the brave and heroic 41-year-old Wing Commander Chimda Hedima after he was captured by terrorists and displayed in a video they released in 2014. It did not end well.

    “This is why we as a movement have always insisted transparency and truth in the manner our government prosecutes and communicates the terrorist war, our triumphs and losses. It is the only way to mobilise the trust, confidence and support of the Nigerian people, especially families and communities directly affected by the multiple tragedies of abductions and deaths.

    “We are worried that while the Nigeria police is issuing denials, some affected families are reaching out to our movement seeking support to advocate to the federal government to mount a rescue plan for their abducted relatives. This unnecessary confusion makes us wonder what the real facts of this alleged abduction are and how the federal government — especially the Presidency intends to resolve it speedily. This is the least respect that should be accorded the alleged abductees who in this case are those sacrificing daily to secure the rest of us.

    “We therefore demand immediate reaction of the Presidency and the federal government to the cries of families of the alleged abducted policewomen and other citizens in the burial convoy that was attacked. The federal authorities cannot carry on repeating all the wrong approaches in dealing with victims of terrorism that it should have learned to handle differently over these many years. Therefore, our federal government must immediately provide answers to the whereabouts of the missing policewomen and their civilian counterparts who were part of the burial convoy. It must also instantly convey its effort to rescue any one of the victims of that attack that is accurately established to be in terrorist captivity. Finally, it must institute a feedback platform to engage with all the families of the abducted policewomen and others thereafter.

    “We also seize this opportunity to remind the Presidency and the military that our 113 #ChibokGirls are still missing, 1176 days after their abduction on 14 April 2014. Since the return of 82 last May, we are anxious that nothing further has been communicated to the parents of those still left in terrorist captivity. We demand haste on the part of our federal government in securing the release or rescue of our missing 113 #ChibokGirls to join their 106 schoolmates that have regained their freedom.”

     

  • #BBOG lashes out at govt over ‘coldness’ to Chibok girls’ rescue

    #BBOG lashes out at govt over ‘coldness’ to Chibok girls’ rescue

    The Bring Back Our Girls group (#BBOG) believes federal government’s enthusiasm for the rescue of the Chibok girls left in the custody of the terror sect, Boko Haram, is on the wane.

    The group claims the government is even trying to shut it up, and gets irritated at the mention of the girls’ abduction, these days.

    Spokesperson for #BBOG Aisha Yesufu said in a statement at the weekend ahead of the third anniversary of the abduction of the over 250 students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, that government must wake up to its constitutional duty of getting the remaining girls back home.

    She said, “Today is Day 1089 since schoolgirls of Government Secondary School, Chibok were abducted in their school by terrorists; 57 escaped, 24 returned, 195 of them remain missing. “It is Day 674 of their captivity under President Muhammadu Buhari’s watch. It is Day 1074 of our movement’s daily advocacy demanding that the Federal Government discharges its constitutional duty and rescue the abducted girls from terrorist captivity.

    “In another seven days it will be three years since the tragic events of that night. Tragically, 195 of our young women whose only sin was their quest for knowledge are left by their government to remain in terrorist enclave.

    “We are utterly disappointed at the Government of Nigeria’s abysmal handling of this historical tragedy and are at a loss at the obvious emotional disconnect and insincerity that have defined the actions and words of the President and his government on this matter. None of the commitments made by the government concerning the rescue of our Chibok Girls has been followed through.”

    It said it will hold the government “accountable as we remain undeterred in our demand.” And asked, “What reason can the Federal Government have for never providing progress reports on the status of its rescue operation for our girls? Except for cursory remarks made by the Minister of Information in January.”

  • We must hold government accountable – #BBOG

    We must hold government accountable – #BBOG

    Members of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) advocacy on Tuesday said their responsibility is to hold government accountable for its actions.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, on Monday advised the group to see the administration as a partner rather than an adversary in its quest to secure the release of the Chibok girls.

    #BBOG in a statement, marking 1000 days of advocacy, said it is their priority to awaken the government to its responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of its citizens like the Chibok girls.

    The group further stated that their activities have assisted in awakening global awareness on the cruel actions of Boko Haram.

    In a statement signed by leaders of the group, Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili and Aisha Yesufu, the members said they remained resolute in demanding and compelling necessary government action.

    The statement said, “As a citizens’ movement, our priority has been to awaken our government to its responsibility of protecting lives and properties of its citizens like our #ChibokGirls. Our activities have invariably awakened global awareness and some actions against the cruel action of the Boko Haram terror group.

    “Staying above the fray of politics and change of governments, our movement has remained resolute in the singularity of purpose of demanding and compelling necessary government action to rescue the Chibok girls.”

     

     

  • Fed Govt to BBOG: stop grandstanding on Chibok girls

    Fed Govt to BBOG: stop grandstanding on Chibok girls

    •‘Stick to your advocacy role’

    THE Federal Government has advised the BringBackOurGirls Group (BBOG) to see the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as a partner rather than an adversary in the group’s quest to secure release of the Chibok girls.
    Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who spoke in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said it amounted to needless grandstanding for the BBOG to say it would no longer tolerate “delays” and “excuses” from the President on release of the girls.
    He added that the BBOG’s continued portrayal of the government as an adversary and the needless firing of darts at the “President, who is doing his utmost best to bring the girls back home safely, are ultimately counter-productive”.
    The statement said: ‘’The Federal Government has bent over backwards to carry the BBOG along and to show transparency in the conduct of the search for the girls. The recent invitation extended to the group to witness first-hand the search for the girls by the Nigerian Air Force is a clear indication of this.
    ‘’However, it came to us as a surprise that in spite of its initial positive report on the tour, the BBOG has too quickly reverted to its adversarial role. BBOG should stick to its role as an advocacy group rather than pretending to be an opposition party. The synonyms of the word ‘advocacy’ do not include ‘antagonism’, ‘opposition’ or ‘attack’.
    “In fact, those words are the antonyms of advocacy,” he said.
    Mohammed said the needless grandstanding by the BBOG and its use of impudent language should have been reserved for those, who did nothing in the first 500 days of the girls’ abduction, “not for a President who has presided over the liberation of all captured territory, the opening of shuts schools and roads, the safe release of some of the abducted girls and the decimation of Boko Haram”.
    He assured Nigerians that the efforts to bring the girls back safely were continuing, but sought their understanding for not divulging any further details so as not to jeopardise the intricate process.
    ‘’Let me say unequivocally that the people involved in the negotiations are working 24/7. The negotiations are complicated, tortuous and delicate. Any wrong signal is capable of derailing things. That’s why the less we say about the talks, the better it is for all.
    ‘’We need a huge amount of confidence-building, the kind of which led to the release of the 21 of the girls. This has been lacking for years, but right now we are confident that we are on the right track.
    “We won’t do anything to jeopardise these talks, irrespective of the pressure or provocation from any quarter,” the minister said.

  • Mohammed, BBOG leader lead tour to Yola, Sambisa

    Mohammed, BBOG leader lead tour to Yola, Sambisa

    In a last minute reversal, the Bring Back Our Girls campaigners on Monday morning accepted the invitation for an operational visit to Yola and Sambisa forest.

    The BBOG was led by former Education minister, Oby Ezekwesili, the convener, Aisha Yesufu, Dr. Manaseh Allen and another aide.

    They joined Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar and Minister of Defence, Brig General Mansur Dan-Ali.

    The team left the Nigeria Air Force airbase in Abuja aboard the transport plane, C-130 Hercules and arrived at 103 Strike force Group Yola at 10:35am.

    The team is currently undergoing a debrief of what to expect as it prepares to fly into Sambisa forest.
    According to the Air Officer Commanding, Tactical Air Command, Air Vice Marshal Nurudeen Balogun, some sightings of abductees have been made in the following areas: Njimia, Dure, Camp Zairo, Tumbun Rego, Yuwe and Dogon Chuku villages.

    He said eight women and 11 children were rescued on January 8, 2017.

    Follow Defence Correspondent @seunakioye for updates

  • Fed Govt rejects BBOG conditions for joining Chibok Girls’ search mission

    Fed Govt rejects BBOG conditions for joining Chibok Girls’ search mission

    The Federal Government has rejected the conditions given by the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group for joining a day search sorties for missing Chibok girls in Sambisa Forest.

    In a letter addressed to the group’s convener, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, which was made available to reporters yesterday, the government said it was unable to postpone the trip as scheduled.

    The letter dated January 14 was signed by Minister of Information and Culture  Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    ‘’Thank you for your letter, dated January 13, which is in response to ours of January 11, requesting that we change the date of the proposed guided tour of the Northeast to accommodate a Pre-Tour Meeting between your organisation and some top officials of the Federal Government.

    ‘’We have also noted the conditions you gave for embarking on the trip, which include the said Pre-Tour Meeting and the retraction of some remarks allegedly made by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.- Gen. Tukur Buratai, which the #BBOG finds to be slanderous.

    ‘’We regret, however, to inform you that we are unable to postpone the trip as scheduled. ’’

    The government insisted the team would proceed on the trip today as scheduled because of the narrow window available to have a good weather on the day.

    It said payment for the satellite downlink streaming of the mission had been made for the day and shifting the date would require another round of booking to secure such a slot.

    The government added that apart from the BBOG members, local and international journalists had been invited for the trip, while some preparations had been made by the military.

    It noted that the remarks purportedly made by the Chief of Army Staff and the request for a meeting with its certain top officials were irrelevant to its request for the BBOG to join in the search mission.

    The government stressed that it extended the invitation to the BBOG  in recognition of the group’s commitment to the safe release of the Chibok girls in captivity and interest in the welfare of those who had been released.

    ‘’We hope that the BBOG will drop its conditions and join the trip, which shows the commitment of the Federal Government to securing freedom for the Chibok girls and its transparency in handling the issues of the girls. ’’

    The government, in a letter dated January 11, invited members of BBOG to a short trip in a military operational flight into Sambisa Forest in search of the missing Chibok girls.

    In the letter, the government asked the BBOG to nominate three of its members to join on the guided trip, from which two would join the sorties due to limited seats on the search plane.

    The government had stated that the trip would avail the BBOG the opportunity to witness and better understand the efforts being made to secure the freedom of the girls and other victims of Book Haram terrorists.

    The BBOG, in its reply to the invitation, requested the government to meet certain conditions before the tour and also demanded for a change in the scheduled date.

  • Chibok girls: FG invites BBOG for search sorties to Sambisa Forest

    Chibok girls: FG invites BBOG for search sorties to Sambisa Forest

    The Federal Government has invited the BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group for day and search sorties for missing Chibok girls to Sambisa Forest.
    The trip will enable the campaigners to have firsthand information on the efforts being made by the Nigerian military to rescue the girls.
    The government’s invitation was contained in a January 11, 2016 letter to the Convener of BBOG, Dr. (Mrs.) Oby Ezekwesili against the backdrop of continued protest by the campaigners for the rescue of Chibok girls.
    The letter, which was signed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed asked the BBOG campaigners to nominate two representatives who will join some journalists and others for a trip to Sambisa Forest on Monday.
    But the BBOG was yet to officially respond to the government’s offer as at press time on Saturday.
    The invitation letter reads: “Let me congratulate you most sincerely for the continuing interest of your group, Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), in the fate of the Chibok girls, including those who have regained freedom and those who remain in captivity.
    “In recognition of your unwavering commitment to the freedom of the girls who remain in captivity, you are invited to nominate three of the BBOG members to join you on a guided trip to the North-East on Monday, 16 Jan. 2017.
    “The trip, being planned by the military, will see the Ministers of Defence and Information as well the Chief of Air Staff joining the invited BBOG members and a select group of journalists, first to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Command Centre in Yola to witness first-hand the efforts being made to search for the girls by the NAF and then join the day and night sorties with the NAF to the Sambisa Forest.
    “Please note that due to limited seats on the search planes; only two of the invited BBOG members will join the NAF sorties.”

  • #BBOG demands accountability, transparency from military

    Members of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) advocacy have demanded transparency and accountability from the Nigerian military on the financing of the counter-insurgency war.

    The group which said it understands that security operations are mostly classified, added that citizens believe a degree of transparency, accountability and disclosure is essential to gaining public confidence and achieving optimal results.

    #BBOG said it is not right that when soldiers are missing or killed in the war front, insufficient information is provided on number, name and identity of the victims.

    In a statement signed by leaders of the group, Oby Ezekwesili and Aisha Yesufu, as part of events marking day three of the Global Week Of Action to commemorate the 1000th day of Chibok girls’ abduction, said “it is necessary for our country to uphold the military tradition of properly mourning and honouring every one of our military men and women who are casualties of war with no exception.

    “Besides the tens of thousands of civilian victims of terrorist attacks, no other group apart from the Nigerian Army and intelligence agencies have lost more personnel in the over eight years old counterinsurgency war.

    “It is for this reason that we are dedicating the third march of our #DAY1000 Global Week of Action to the military with a special focus on the welfare of our forces. We therefore urge everyone to join us now in observing a minute silence in honor of all our military personnel who have died in gallantry, fighting to liberate and secure our citizens and land in the terror war.”