Tag: BringBackOurGirls
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Photos: Bring back our girls rally
L-R Aisha Yusfu, Mrs Esther and Mr. Yakubu parents of the Chibok girls Members of the #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) advocacy group in a solidarity protest in commemoration of two years abduction of the Chibok girls in Abuja. Marching to the Presidential villa FEMI OJO -
Self proclaimed Chibok bomber, a victim, says #BringBackOurGirls group
The #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) advocacy group has said that the teenager bomber who claimed to be one of the Chibok girls when she was apprehended in Cameroon is a victim despite the situation.
The group said that the claim by the young girl should re-awaken the Federal Government on the need to speedily rescue the Chibok girls who will soon be celebrating two years in captivity.
#BBOG said that the arrest of the girl means that the government now has a means of credible intelligence as to the location of the other girls and the need to rescue them.
The group responded to the arrest in a press statement signed by its leaders, Aisha Yesufu, Oby Ezekwesili and Hadiza Bala-Usman.
“We received news yesterday Friday 25 March, of an arrested girl-child suicide bomber in Cameroon who identified herself as one of our abducted Chibok girls.
“We are presently unable to respond to this news conclusively until we have facts from the Nigerian government; from whom we requested and have eagerly been awaiting official information on the matter.
“In the interim however, our thoughts are as follows:
“The claim by the young woman that she is a Chibok girl should reawaken the Nigerian government to the zeal and commitment necessary for ensuring that they are rescued and brought back;
“This development suggests that we now have a possible source of credible intelligence as to what transpired, where the others are, and other leads required to facilitate their rescue.
“Regardless of whether she is one of our Chibok girls or not, our thoughts and sentiments remain the same:
“Using children, girls who should be in school (or any humans at all) as suicide bombers is not only tragic and cruel, it is completely reprehensible and we denounce it;
“These children suicide bomber are themselves victims, and must be seen and treated as such;
“We all must hasten to free all those in captivity. For as long as they are with the monsters, we all are ourselves unsafe and equally in captivity;
“A few weeks ago, a girl suicide bomber did not detonate her device at an IDP camp because she knew her family was most likely in that camp, and she could not kill them. It is important to send out messages that counter the programming of the terrorists. This may help in empowering these victims from detonating the explosives and accessing help;
“This particular experience highlights the importance of building not only a regional coalition among neighbouring countries to counter terror, but a global one.
“The Nigerian government as a matter of urgency, needs to swiftly act to ascertain the facts of this matter and make them public. It is getting to 24 hours since the news broke. We need to know her name and identity, her parents’ names, where she is from, possibly extract DNA samples for quick testing and matching, etc.
“This should be a wakeup call to the Nigerian government to adopt and utilise our citizens-developed tool the Verification, Authentication, and Reunification System (VARS) designed by our movement for such scenarios as these. This tool was accepted by the federal government on 8 July 2015 during our meeting with the president, but has not been deployed.
“Likewise, the Missing Persons Register which would have been useful in tracking this young victim in order to commence her rehabilitation, reunification, and reintegration process with her family and community,” the group stated.
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Chibok girls: Jonathan’s govt frustrated rescue efforts – Ezekwesili
Former Minister of Education and Co-converner of the #BringBackOurGirls group, Obiageli Ezekwesili, on Thursday said that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan was a terrible period in the rescue of the Chibok Girls.
Ezekwesili said that the former president’s administration gave false information that demoralized the advocacy of the group and many Nigerians.
The former minister, who spoke on Kaakaki, a weekly programme on African Independent Television to mark 500 days since the girls were kidnapped from their Secondary school in Chibok, Borno state, added that the parents of the girls never got any information that was credible from the then government.
She said that the group rejoiced when former Chief of Defense Staff announced to Nigerians and the rest of the world that government knew where the girls were being held.
Information, she said, turned out to be ‘decorating information’ by the then government.
She said: “You recall that on May 26, 2014 the then Chief of Defense staff said that they had located the girls that the issue was that they needed strategic maneuver in other to rescue them alive.
“We were rejoicing on the day that that information was given. Subsequently other false information was given to us by the same government and that completely demoralized our advocacy because it suddenly seemed as if the desire was not really focused on credibly finding the girls.
“It was not just the BringBackOurGirls that was demoralized during that period. It was the whole world. The whole world could not understand how come the information concerning the girls just seemed to be massaged in all directions.
“At some point we did a mapping of the various information that was coming out of government. We said to ourselves that we were not going to be an anecdotal movement. We were going to simply keep a focus on monitoring the statements of government, the actions of government so that we could analytically say this is what the trend seems to suggest.
“I am saying to you with every sincere bone in me that it was a terrible period.”
She said that the group has renewed hope that the Chibok girls will be rescued since it met with President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ezekwesili said that the 219 girls who answered the call to be educated will not be forgotten.
“219 young women who answered the call to be educated in other to improve their lot in life as well as enhance our own society cannot be abandoned by their nation and fellow citizen. That therefore keeps us hopeful. We are never going to stop hoping. They cannot be forgotten.
“We met with the president on July 8. During that engagement the president reiterated the point that he had in his inaugural address that rescuing the Chibok girls was of priority for the administration and that they would maximize their efforts at rescuing the girls.
“We see that as the constructive engagement that we desired with the government when this situation first arouse we see it now. That is constructive, that is based on a sense that government owes accountability to citizens,” she added.
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El-Rufai appoints new chief of staff, others
Governor Nasir El-Rufa of Kaduna State has on Monday appointed Hadiza Bala Usman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Chief of Staff.
The newly appointed Chief of Staff, Ms. Usman, has served the APC in a number of committees and capacities as the Administrative Secretary of the Buhari Presidential Campaign Organization, Member APC Strategy Committee and Member Secretary APC Elections Planning Committee, among others.
Similarly, during the gubernatorial campaign of El-Rufai, she was Director of Finance in the Campaign Organization, and later the Kaduna State APC Campaign Council.
It would be recalled that Ms. Hadiza Usman started the strongest campaign for the rescue of the kidnapped Chibok Girls with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls which went viral all around the world.
Other appointments include Special Assistant on New Media, Bashir Dabo and Personal Secretary to the governor, Saude Amina Mohammed.
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#BBOG demands full apology from Jonathan
Members of the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy have demanded that President Goodluck Jonathan offer a full apology to the group and Nigerians for denying the abduction of the Chibok girls and attacking the group.
They said the group and Nigerians will never forgive him if he does not apologise for the part he played in ensuring the girls remained in captivity for over a year.
A member of the group Mr. Chude Jideonwo stated this on Thursday in Abuja, during the group’s symposium marking, one year of advocating for the abducted Chibok girls’ release.
He said, “We demand an apology from President Jonathan for not only denying the disappearance of these girls but for attacking innocent citizens who stood up to demand that he must do his job.
“He owes every single citizen of this country an apology or we will never forgive him.”
Another member of the group, Dr. Allen Mannanseh, said the Chibok community and parents of the girls are demanding for full disclosure on the rescue mission.
He said the family and friends of the girls want disclosure, they want to know what happened to the girls or where they are so that they can stop mourning and that the community demands for the prosecution of everyone involved in deceiving Nigerians on the ceasefire deal.
His words, “We want a full disclosure from the present government on what it has done to rescue our girls, we want complete accountability of reports on the rescue operation from the government. They told us that the 200 girls recently rescued are not our girls and that they have been combing villages around Sambisa and asking the villagers if they saw our girls.
“All we want from them is disclosure and not how many villages they have combed. I spoke to the escapee girls today and they told me that they are tired of mourning for their friends for over a year, they said that they want disclosure, they want to know if the girls are still alive and will return or not so that they can move on with their life.
“We are also demanding that all those people involved in deceiving us and Nigerians on the alleged ceasefire deal be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
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Bring back our girls campaigners
Kudos to the court verdict that legalizes their efforts and condemns the police
The judgment of an Abuja High Court presided over by Justice Sunday Aladetoyimbo declaring the attempt by the Police to ban the #BringbackOurGirls campaigners from holding their rallies as illegal, unconstitutional, null and void is salutary. For us and we are sure for most Nigerians that attempt by the federal government to use the police to stop the patriotic efforts of the campaigners to keep in the front burner what ordinarily should be the prime interest of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is reckless. But for the misguided interest of the administration, a government that lacks the capacity to ensure the security of lives and property has no business being in power.
As held by the court, the freedom of thought, expression, assembly and association are fundamental rights guaranteed to all Nigerians, in sections 38, 39 and 40 of the 1999 constitution, and the Police has not right to abridge them. These rights are also guaranteed under Articles 10 and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 2004. But despite these express provisions of the law, AIG Joseph Mbu, then Commissioner of Police, Abuja, now AIG Zone 7, reminiscent of his conduct as Commissioner of Police in Rivers, however declared the assembly of the campaigners unlawful and threatened to ban their peaceful gatherings. It was that brazen violation of the clear provisions of our constitution by AIG Mbu that led the protesters to approach the court for redress.
As law abiding citizens the campaigners did the right thing to approach the court for enforcement of their fundamental rights, and it is gratifying that the Honourable High Court declared the action of the police authority and the federal government unlawful. Our hope is that Mr. Mbu and his co-respondents have learnt the limits of their powers in a democracy, unless of course they are outlaws. Notably in making the order, the court granted “an order of perpetual injunctions restraining the respondent, his agents and privies from further preventing the applicants or aggrieved Nigerians from taking part in protests and rallies in exercise of freedom of expression, assembly and association as guaranteed by the constitution and the African Charter.” Now that the Court has declared Mr. Mu’s gambit as an affront to the Constitution, we hope he can now be called to account.
Unfortunately the heart rendering plight of the over 200 students of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, who were apprehended by the criminal elements, better known as Boko Haram since April 15, is yet to come to an end. Ordinarily their cause is such that should worry any sane soul, considering that their continuous detention by the insurgents has caused the deaths of many of their parents, and brought untold hardship to the others. As a nation the successful kidnap and marauding into slavery or forced marriages of the girls, as claimed by the insurgents, constitutes an unprecedented humiliation for our country.
But to the surprise of many Nigerians, the federal government led by President Goodluck Jonathan, has shown the lack of capacity to bring that debacle to an end. Just recently, the government gleefully announced a ceasefire with the insurgents which they claimed would include the unconditional release of the Chibok girls in exchange for some of the Boko Haram criminals captured by the security agencies. Unfortunately that turned a hoax, and now the girls have spent over 200 days in captivity with no hope in sight. It is the self-sacrificing effort of the #BringBackOurGirls group to keep the plight of these girls in public consciousness that Joseph Mbu shamelessly tried to stop.
As if to rub salt to the injury and further ridicule Nigeria, the leader of the deadly Islamic sect in contrast to the claim of Nigeria’s Chief of Defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, came out recently to ridicule the attempted effort by government to make peace with the group. Since that video came out, the Boko Haram appears to have taken an upper hand in the fight to colonize a large chunk of Nigerian territory. So it is now necessary for all well-meaning Nigerians to openly canvass for support for the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners as one major way to keep their plight in public view.
After all the Jonathan administration has clearly set its eyes on getting re-elected at all cost, regardless of their performance in office. The side effect of such a major distraction from the primary purpose of a government is that fundamental issues such as the security of lives and property continues to be neglected at a great cost to the nation. But as has been demonstrated by President Jonathan’s government, no amount of complaint is enough to redirect their attention in the right direction.
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I think the government is playing us, says Chibok elder
A leader of the Abuja Chibok community, Dr. Dauda Iliya expressed doubt about the reported truce between the federal government and Boko Haram.He questions the truthfulness of the truce when since it was announced on Friday, Boko Haram has been attacking villages in Borno.“My heart tells me to keep my fingers crossed and be prayerful, but my head tells me to just wave it away and to dismiss it like I know the government to tell bull stories.“I simply thinking the government is playing Nigerians for two reasons. One, I have received reports that two very well known villages in southern Borno, one in Hawul in the village of shaffa was attacked and many people killed over the weekend between Friday when the attack was made and Saturday.“Two, the second villge called Lassa in Askira/Gwuba Local Government was also attacked between Friday night and Saturday and also in northern Borno in I think, Kana Local government. With this, why will Boko Haram be attacking villages, killing people and destroying houses if indeed their was a truce that is number one.“Why should the government be the one announcing the truce, when it is the government and its army that is under attack, I think it is the people attacking that should be announcing any kind of truce,” Iliya stated.Leader of the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy group, Aisha Yusufu also added, “we are hopeful, waiting and really anxious, we are surprised that a ceasefire has supposedly been reached and people are still been killed. Who are they having this ceasefire with if the Boko Haram doesn’t even know that there is any ceasefire going on.“For me I don’t want to make allegations. All I want to say is that we Nigerians what we want from the government is the truth, nothing but the truth. It is high time that the Nigerian government comes out and begin to tell the people the truth no matter how bitter. It is and then we know what to do.” -
Saraki to Fed Govt: ensure Chibok girls’ release
Former Kwara State Governor Senator Bukola Saraki has enjoined politicians to use the independence anniversary as a turning point to move the country forward.
Saraki, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), also urged the Federal Government to ensure that the over 200 abducted Chibok girls are released.
“I urge Nigerians to keep the demand loud and strong: #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS,” he said.
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Chibok: We’re tired of waiting, say protesters
Campaigners for the rescue of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, under the aegis of #BringBackOurGirls, have said they are tired that the innocent girls remain in Boko Haram captivity, 113 after their abduction.
They said the members of the movement have put their lives on the hold for 98 days, asking the government to perform its constitutional duties.
They regretted that rather than empathise, the government has been censuring the group for its patriotism for fellow Nigerians.
The group noted that although they cry and despair for the Chibok girls, they would not give up the hope for the girls’ return.
The campaigners feared that something bad might happen to the girls, if they stopped fighting for their rescue.
One of the leaders of the group, Bukky Shonibare, spoke yesterday at the 98th day of the campaigners’ daily sitting.
She explained that though the protesters were tired of the authorities’ non-response, the group would continue to stand for the Chibok girls until they are rescued.
Shonibare said: “It’s been 113 days and the girls are not yet back, it’s so discouraging that we continue to speak about the same thing and yet no response, I am tired of working on strategies.
“There are days that we are weakened by the discouragement, we cry and we despair but we will not give up because the day we give up on the Chibok girls, what becomes of us?” She asks.
She also said: “Each and everyone of us for the past 98 days have put our lives on the hold until our girls are brought back alive, each day I wake up with the good that something good will happen and our girls will return but yet nothing and instead the people saddled with the responsibility of returning the girls turn around pointing fingers at us and calling us names. We will not give up for the girls and will continue to stand.”
Another member, Dino Malaye said: “Those of us coming here everyday are not here for the lack of things to do. It’s because we have a conscience. We care for these girls and are pained by their continued captivity.
“If you are a Nigerian and not standing up for the release of these innocent girls, I honestly don’t know what you could possibly be standing for.”
