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Tag: Chibok girls

  • Chibok girls will be rescued alive – Jonathan

    Chibok girls will be rescued alive – Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday rejected the notion that government has not done enough to rescue the abducted girls, saying such belief was very wrong and misplaced.

    Speaking during an audience with Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani Girl-Child Education Campaigner, President Jonathan said the Federal Government is doing everything possible to ensure the girls’ release.

    The President, however, explained to Malala, who was accompanied by her father and other members of her Foundation, that the Federal Government’s efforts were constrained by government’s resolve to ensure that the girls’ lives are not endangered in any rescue attempt.

    He said: “Terror is relatively new here and dealing with it has its challenges. The great challenge in rescuing the Chibok girls is the need to ensure that they are rescued alive.”

    “The Federal Government and its security agencies were very mindful of the need to avoid the scenario in rescue attempts in other parts of the world where lives of abductees were lost in the efforts to rescue them.”

    Despite this challenge, he said, the Federal Government is actively pursuing all feasible options to achieve the safe return of the abducted girls.

    “The time it is taking to achieve that objective is not a question of the competence of the Nigerian Government. We have had teams from the United States, Britain, France, Israel and other friendly nations working with us here on the rescue effort and they all appreciate the challenges and the need to tread carefully to achieve our purpose,” he stated.

    The President said he would meet with the parents himself before they leave Abuja to personally comfort them and reassure them that the Federal Government is doing all within its powers to rescue their daughters.

    He reiterated his administration’s commitment to providing safe and proper education for Nigerian children.

  • Jonathan to meet parents of abducted girls

    Jonathan to meet parents of abducted girls

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday assured the young Pakistani girls’ education advocate, Malala Yousafzai, that he is ready to meet the parents of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, on April 14.

    Malala, who was shot by the Taliban three years ago for campaigning for girls’ education, disclosed this at a press conference after meeting behind closed door with President Jonathan.

    She said President Jonathan also assured her that efforts are ongoing to ensure safe release of the girls from terrorists’ den.

    Malala said she believed President Jonathan was serious with the two promises, adding that she looks forward to the girls’ release.

    She insisted that Nigeria’s annual budgetary allocation for education  is too meager.

    The Director of Communications, Malala Foundation, Eason Jordan, said at the briefing that President Jonathan also promised to ensure scholarship for the abducted girls.

    Jordan stated that Malala pledged to support the scholarship with $200,000

    Malala said: “I am here in Nigeria on my 17th birthday for a price which is to see that every child goes to school. This year, my objective is to speak up for my Nigerian sisters about 200 of them who are under the abduction of Boko haram and I met President, Goodluck Jonathan for this purpose.

    “I convey the voice of my sisters who are out of school or who are still under the abduction of Boko Haram. And for those girls who escaped from the terrorists’ den but still do not have education. And in the meeting, I highlighted the same issues which the girls and their parents told me in the past two days.

    “The parents said they really want to meet with the President to share their stories with him. And I asked the President that if he wants to meet with the parents of the girls, he assured me that he would meet with them.”

    She went on: “I spoke to the President about the girls who complained that they cannot go to school despite the fact that they want to become doctors, engineers and teachers. But the government is not providing them any facility. They also need health facility, security, and the government is not doing anything.

    “These are the issues I presented to the President today. He promised that something would be done for these girls.”

     

  • Malala’s birthday wish: bring back Chibok girls

    Malala’s birthday wish: bring back Chibok girls

    Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousafzai, who survived after being shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for girls’ education, pledged yesterday to help free the 219 schoolgirls being held by Boko Haram since April 15.

    Malala spoke in Abuja when she met with some parents of the schoolgirls.

    There were 15 parents at the meeting and five of the 57 girls who escaped from the Boko Haram custody.

    Some of the parents broke down in tears as Malala spoke at a hotel.

    “I can see those girls as my sisters … and I’m going to speak up for them until they are released,” said Malala, who celebrates her 17th birthday today. She is scheduled to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Aso Villa this morning.

    “I’m going to participate actively in the ‘bring back our girls’ campaign to make sure that they return safely and they continue their education.”

    The girls’ abduction drew unprecedented international attention to the insurgency in the Northeast and the growing security risk that Boko Haram poses to Nigeria.

    A #BringBackOurGirls Twitter campaign supported by United States First Lady Michelle Obama and singer Angelina Jolie heaped pressure on authorities to act, and President Jonathan pledged to save the girls, drawing promises of Western help to do so.

    But several weeks on the hostages have not yet been freed.

    The Boko Haram activities are intensifying. The police said on Saturday they uncovered a plot to bomb the Abuja transport network, using suicide bombers and devices concealed in luggage at major bus stations.

    “I can feel … the circumstances under which you are suffering,” she said. “It’s quite difficult for a parent to know that his daughter is in great danger. My birthday wish this year is bring back our girls now and alive.”

    Taliban militants shot Malala for her outspoken views on women’s right to education. She survived after being flown to Britain for treatment and has since become a symbol of defiance against militants operating in the tribal areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

    She has won the European Union’s prestigious human rights award and was one of the favorites to win the Nobel Peace Prize last year, although the award ended up going to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

    The Pakistani activist met separately with leaders of the BringBackOurGirls campaign group and some 15 parents of the abducted girls, along with five of the girls who escaped from their abductors.

    “The situation at Chibok is the same with the situation in Swat where some extremists stopped more than 400 girls from going to school,” Malala told the escapees after listening to their stories.

    Swat is her birthplace in Pakistan where she was shot in the head in 2012 on her way from school.

    “And I believe your voices are more powerful than any other weapon. So believe in yourself and go and continue your journey. Continue learning and you will succeed because we did succeed in our journey. There is peace in Swat. Every girl is going to school.

    “The same way, we will be here one day we will see all of you going to school, getting your education,” she added.

    “She (Malala) has an appointment to meet President Goodluck Jonathan 11 am (1000 GMT) tomorrow,” her aide told an AFP correspondent after the meetings.

    Malala urged the Nigerian government to take the girls’ plight seriously for the sake of the country’s future.

    “My request to the government is that they should take you serious. They should definitely take you serious,” she told the five escapee girls.

    “If you don’t focus on the future generation it means you are destroying your country. Think about these girls.”

    She urged Nigerian authorities to ensure the safe release of the remaining girls being held hostage by the Islamists.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Malala, who began a three-day visit to Nigeria on Saturday was at a dinner in Abuja held in her honour at Transcorp Hilton hotel.

    She spoke exclusively to NAN after the dinner that ended at about 10.40 p.m.

    “On my 17th birthday my wish is to see every child go to school and I want to see my Nigerian sisters being released from their abduction and I want them to be free to go to school and continue their education,’’ she said .

    Malala was accompanied to the dinner by her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai and members of the Malala Fund, including Shiza Shahid, the 25-year old founder of the organisation.

    A 32-man guest list at the event included members of civil society organisations and representatives of international organisations in Nigeria such as USAID, DFID, British Council and DFID.

    The Managing Director of NAN, Mr. Ima Niboro, presented a birthday card and flowers to Malala on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “Thank you Malala for coming to Nigeria, Mr President personally signed this card, he shares your vision, your dreams and your ambitions and he is happy that you are here,’’ Niboro told Malala.

    She will also mark the Malala Day today in Abuja to champion her cause for free and compulsory education for every child around the world.

    The education advocate informed the guests at the  dinner that she would welcome ideas and opinions from them on how to ensure the safety and education of every child in Nigeria.

    Malala’s father, Ziauddin said:  “since centuries we have been ignoring half of our population, so we should stop it now.’

    “We feel very honoured and I want to share with you one thing: what you can do for your society as a social activist, women rights activist nobody else can do.

    “ In the Swat District (in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) I was contributing to my community in education, I had a school and I was a poor man in terms of money but I had an institution I started from the scratch.

    “I was able to send 120 students on scholarship to my school so your existence in your community is the biggest capital you have, your involvement with your community is the biggest capital you have which I have lost.

    “I will regain it one-day but the difference I was able to make when I was there, I can’t make it now so you should capitalize on your being in your communities,’’ he said.

    In a telephone interview with the NAN, Pakistani High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. Muhammad Saleem said the High commission “was not informed of her visit to Nigeria.

    “However, we welcome her to Nigeria because she is doing a great job.

    “She is a daughter of Pakistan and we are proud of her achievements and we hope her visit to Nigeria will go a long way in resolving the issue of the kidnapped Chibok school girls.

    “She’s a great daughter of Pakistan and we welcome her campaign for education,” Saleem said.

  • Cleric calls for Chibok girls’ release

    Founder of Husseiniyya Islamic Foundation, Sheikh Hussein Muhammed, has called for concerted efforts from religious organisations, groups and individuals to secure the release of the over 200 girls abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State.

    The renowned cleric called for more prayers to ensure the safe return of the Chibok girls to their parents.

    While condemning in strong terms the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents, Sheikh Muhammed deplored the killing of innocent people by the terrorist group, insisting that Islam is a religion of peace which abhors violence.

    Quoting relevant verses from the Holy Qur’an to back up his assertion, the cleric referred to Verse 151 of Chapter 6 of the Qur’an where Allah said: “Take not life which Allah had made sacred, except by way of justice and the law.”

    The cleric urged Muslims to continue to pray with dedication and sincerity of purpose, as according to him, Allah is ready to grant such requests.

    He announced that prayer sessions will hold every Jumat service as part of efforts to assist the government in rescuing the abducted Chibok girls.

  • ‘Why Chibok girls have not been rescued’

    The National Council of State meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday deliberated on the security situation in the country with particular attention on how to safely rescue the over 200 secondary school girls abducted in Chibok, Borno State in April.

    The meeting attended by former Presidents and Heads of State, Olusegun Obasanjo, Shehu Shagari, Ibrahim Babangida, Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Ernest Shonekan, urged Nigerians to be patient  on the security challenges in the country as security agencies have to be meticulous in their approaches to minimize loss of lives.

    Details of the meeting was  disclosed to State House correspondents by Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio at the end of the meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He was accompanied to the briefing by Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole and his Kaduna State counterpart, Yero Ramalan.

    Akpabio said: “Top on the agenda of the meeting was the security of the nation. We were briefed by the President, and the National Security Adviser on the steps that are being taken. Top on the security was the rescue of Chibok girls which military authorities also confirmed that efforts were being made and that very soon we will have good news.”

    “It was also heartwarming to note that the issue is not whether we can rescue the girls, but the issue is how can we rescue them in a way that we can ensure their safety so that we don’t end up in the attempt to rescue them we endanger their lives.”

    “What also came out is the need for Nigerians to be patient because terrorism is a new challenge in Nigeria and it is not something that goes away immediately and we have to be meticulous in our approach and make sure that we take the best steps forward to reduce and minimize possible loss of lives in an attempt to curb the insurgents.”

    Continuing, he said: “We are very satisfied the security agents know very well where the girls are located and they are on top of situation.”

    “The other issue was the  general security of the nation and this is to assure the public that the military authorities working in concert with the governors of various states of the federation are on top of the situation and that we require patience, cooperation in order to bring the situation to an end.”

    “What also came out of the discussion was the need for every person to be vigilant in which ever part of the country you are in because security is everybody”s business. You gave to know your neighbour and understand your environment and report any  suspicious  movement to security agents.”

    He said that the Council commended the security agencies in their fight against terrorism.

    He said: “We are happy that very serious efforts are being made, all necessary equipment that will enable us bring this insurgency to and end are being procured by the federal government and Council was satisfied that Mr. President is on top of situation and he is taking this issue of insurgency very seriously and sooner than later Nigerians will see an end to this problem.”

     

  • ‘FG has classified information on abducted schoolgirls’

    The Federal Government on Monday said it has classified information on the abducted schoolgirls.

    The Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mike Omeri, who stated this in Abuja at the daily briefing, said the government is moving closer to rescuing the girls.

    Omeri said with the arrest of three female terror suspects and the Boko Haram’s Chief of intelligence last week, the girls’ rescue will no longer be delayed.

    “The Federal Government is working assiduously to secure the release of the girls and to restore peace to all parts of the country.

    Mr. President has heard what Nigerians are saying and working seriously to secure their release.

    “We are getting closer to rescuing the girls and Nigerians should bear with us till we achieve our target,” he stated.

     

  • ‘Intensify efforts to find Chibok girls’

    ‘Intensify efforts to find Chibok girls’

    Two non-governmental organizations, the Vision Spring Initiatives and Echoes of Women in Africa Initiatives (ECOWA) have called on the Federal Government to intensify efforts towards finding the over 200 school girls abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno State.

    According to Lousia Ekhomu, the Executive Director of  ECOWA, “ We  condemn in the strongest terms the abduction of school girls in Chibok  in Borno State of Nigeria. It is sad that more than 200 Nigerian school girls who had gone to write examinations were forcefully abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents.

    Ekhomu added that there is an urgent need for government to motivate security operatives and improve their operational capacity to live up to expectation of protecting the people.

    Also speaking, Bridget Osakwe of WANEP used the opportunity to appeal to government and traditional and religious leaders from the north to address and resolve the root cause of the insurgency towards ensuring restoration of sustainable peace in the north.

    “There is need for the re-orientation of young people in the north from the culture of almajiri  and all other indoctrination that promotes violence.”

  • ‘Release Chibok girls in the spirit of Ramadan’

    An Islamic scholar has called on members of Boko Haram to release the over 200 female students abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in the spirit of Ramadan.

    The Chairman, League of Imam and Alfa, Eti-Osa Branch in Ajah, Lagos, Alhaji AbdulBari Yoosuph Afinni, said Boko Haram should allow the girls to go home in this holy month if the sect members are truly Muslims as they claimed and parade themselves.

    Afinni, who condemned   the abduction of the schoolgirls, said Islam accords women and female girls special care and attention than what the sect did with the continued incarceration of innocent girls for over two months.

    He said: “We are very sure that the nation’s numerous challenges will be surmounted.  It is expected that the group will not take up arms against anyone in the spirit of Ramadan. That is if they are true Muslims. Besides, Islamic does not allow anyone to kidnap, kill or maim innocent citizens.

    “We don’t know them, but as they claim to be Muslims, we believe they would respect the holy month and release the girls.

    “You don’t maltreat women or wage war against them. You must exonerate them from violence or psychological trauma that they are being subjected to. The girls are not feeling fine and no matter how much care they receive from the sect; they won’t be mentally balanced.

    “We appealed to the sect to release them for the sake of the holy month.”

    Another cleric, Sheikh Mas’ud Mudasir, called on Nigerians to seek forgiveness for their sins, saying many challenges confronting the nations are products of sins.

    “All our problems are man-made and products of our sins from the leaders and the led. We have to repent and seek forgiveness from God. That’s the only way out. Prayer is the solution. We all know our sins. We must go back to God and repent,” he said.

    Amir (President) of Nigeria Muslim Students of Nigeria, Eti-Osa Branch, Yusuf Lawal,  said the sect’s activities are un-Islamic, wondering why its members attack women and other innocent Nigerians.

    “The Boko Haram don’t represent Islam. That is why we are praying for the release of the Chibok girls and other abductees,” he added.

  • Gordon Brown calls for focus on abducted girls

    Gordon Brown calls for focus on abducted girls

    The United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown, on Monday urged the world to remember the kidnapped schoolgirls of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

    Boko Brown, in a message to mark the Day of the African Child at the UN headquarters in New York, also praised the youth around the world as they mobilised to demand education for all.

    The theme for this year is: “A child friendly, quality, free and compulsory education for all children in Africa.”

    “Thousands of people have come together united with one cause: Safe schools for every girl and boy.

    “While the global community has failed to deliver safe schooling, young people are demanding safe, quality schools for all children everywhere, and they are standing in solidarity with the northern Nigerian girls of Chibok, and all those around the world who face these struggles,” Brown said.

    The UN has repeatedly called for concerted efforts to tackle the insurgency in North-East, and reiterated its support for ongoing efforts by the Nigerian government to secure the schoolgirls’ safe release.

    The Day of the African Child is marked on June 16 every year to honour the memory of school children killed in 1976 during a demonstration in Soweto, South Africa.

    The News Agency of Nigeria recalled that the students were protesting inferior education by the apartheid administration and demanding lessons in their own language.

    The African Union (AU) designated the Day in 1991, encouraging events to be organised around the world promoting children’s rights.

    In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the AU is headquartered, an assembly of young people also converged on Monday at the organisation to deliver a call of action about education to world leaders.

  • Chibok girls: U.S. ready for action against Boko Haram

    Chibok girls: U.S. ready for action against Boko Haram

    •Lawmaker: we await Jonathan’s approval                     •‘Establish Victims’ Fund’

    United States troops may be deployed in the search for the over 200 abducted secondary school girls in Chibok, Borno State, it was learnt yesterday.

    A US Congressional delegation made up of Representatives Steve Stockman, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Frederica Wilson and Lois Frankel, told a news conference at the Unity Fountain in Abuja yesterday that the US planned to take action.

    Stockman said: “We get briefed by the military and pending the approval of the government of Nigeria and our government, we plan to take action but I don’t think we are going into specifics this time; it was a classified briefing. We stand ready to help and as soon as our government and Nigerian government approve, we will take action.”

    In the meantime, US is helping Nigeria to train its military.

    Jackson-Lee said: “What I want to say is that I think what it is right now is to work with the Nigerian government in training of the military. I want to emphasise again here that we have come all these miles to say that our Congress stands ready to cooperate with the government in a manner that is appropriate and with the consent of Nigerian government. And I want to emphasise the need for the Victims Relief Fund because there is so much suffering going on by the young girls and the families that have been touched by this violence.”

    The delegation also urged the Nigeria government to establish a National Victims Fund.

    The fund, they argued, is necessary for the rehabilitation of all those who have suffered from the Boko Haram horrific violence.

    Jackson-Lee said: “Collectively, we bring a wide range of special knowledge to Nigeria and to focus on a very important issue. We have come from the United States to focus on bringing the girls back and to focus on stopping the violence of Boko Haram.”

    The group narrated the story of a woman who watched her husband, a police officer, decapitated by Boko Haram, her throat was slashed to a point that she cannot speak and her arms were slashed. She received no compensation.

    “ So we come today with solution; we also come today in asking the North east and Nigeria to continue to accept international help and it is time  to find a way to contain the Boko Haram and save the lives of so many,” she said.

    The group urged the government of Nigeria to establish a National Victims Fund, for “all of the victims who have suffered at the hands of Boko Haram, for the girls who are still missing, for the girls who escaped, for their families, for the father who spoke to us about his missing daughter, and the victims who have perished and their families. They need compensation.

    “We thank President Obama and the United States Congress for its very keen interest on the question of bringing the girls back, and stopping the horrific violence of Boko Haram,” Jackson-Lee said.

    She added that the mission speaks in unity about the crisis inflicted on the girls, women and their families, who have been victimised by the terrorist acts of Boko Haram, admonishing the Northeast and Borno State to stop the Boko Haram violence.

    “We also believe that it is important to focus on our children and to acknowledge that more than 10 million children in Nigeria are not in school, many of them are in the Northeast.

    “It is time for economic empowerment and jobs to take the children away from Boko Haram, put them in schools and give the young people in the Northeast and in Nigeria the opportunity for jobs and education,” she noted.

    The chairman of the humanitarian mission, Stockman, said the group hopes to join Nigeria in a comprehensive partnership to fight the crisis, adding that it will extend a hand of friendship to resolve the problem.

    Frederica Wilson noted that the United States stand with Nigeria in the fight against terrorism, condemning the kidnap of about 270 school girls as “outrageous”.