Policewomen block supporters of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, who ask for the release of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants, from marching to the president’s official residence in the Nigerian capital Abuja on October 14, 2014. Nigerian police on Tuesday blocked supporters of 219 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants from marching on the president’s official residence on the six-month anniversary of the abduction. A wall of female officers in full riot gear formed the first line of a barricade in front of less than 100 members of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, preventing them from setting out. AFP PHOTO
Leader of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign Oby Ezekwesili speaks as policewomen block supporters of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants from marching to the president’s official residence in Abuja on October 14, 2014. Nigerian police on Tuesday blocked supporters of 219 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants from marching on the president’s official residence on the six-month anniversary of the abduction. A wall of female officers in full riot gear formed the first line of a barricade in front of less than 100 members of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, preventing them from setting out.AFP PHOTO.
The protest which started around 3pm was later addressed by the Minister of women Affairs, Hajia Zanaib Maina, said the federal Government is doing everything possible to ensure the safe release of the remaining 219 Government Secondary school, Chibok, Borno State from Boko Haram.
The Minister who was accompanied by Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, Minister of Environment, Mrs Lawrencia Laraba-Mallam, Minister of Land and Housing, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi, represented President Goodluck Jonathan, said, “We are here to meet you because Mr.
He cannot come out, he has meetings and since already you are out that’s why we are asked to come here and meet with you and to apologise for his inability to be here personally. But you can see we are all members of the Federal Executive Council” Maina said to the protesters.
“Even though you wrote a letter to the President, he can ask us to come and address you. That’s why we are here to address all of you here. You want to meet with Mr. President and find out why up till now the girls have not been rescued back to be reunited with their family. We are here to reassure you as a responsible government, there’s no government in the world that will sit back and be comfortable while the citizens of the country are abducted and we don’t know their condition.
“The government is doing all it can to make sure that these girls are rescued and back to their families alive. It is not as if the government is sitting back and watching”.
Maina continued, “Government is trying all it could to make sure that these girls are brought back. They are our daughters. We are all mothers; as much as it hurts you, it hurts us even the fathers. You know as well as we do some of you are very much aware of the efforts that the government has been making to make sure that these girls our daughters are brought back alive.
“There are some technicality issues that border on security, we are all know that our military personnel are out there in the bush doing what they can. It is not that they cannot force themselves in there but they have some technical ways of doing their things which we civilian do not know. ”
Earlier the Coordinator of the group Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, while addressing the ministers, she said “You have joined the Police who have prevented us from meeting our President and Commander- in- Chief, the Commissioner of Police did indicate we should wait and then we will be able to proceed to have the meeting.
“We had written the President as part of our global call to action concerning the rescue of the Chibok girls that we would be visiting him exactly on the day that marks six months of the Chibok girls abduction.
“We have come to join up and have that meeting so that we can listen to Mr. President and convey to him the incredible urgency that we we desire concerning the rescue of the Chibok girls and to hear from Mr. President what exactly is going on concerning the rescue of the Chibok girls. We are not sure why we are not being allowed to proceed to see Mr. President and so we need to get answers to that.”
The group who also gave the Minister of women affairs 5 questions to be answered by Mr. President, asking for the whereabout of the 219 chibok girls that were abducted on the 14th of April 2014.
A father of two missing girls from Government Secondary school, Chibok, Borno State, Mr. Enoch Mark, said since Cameroon can negotiatiate with Boko Haram and secured released of the 27 people that were kidnapped by Boko haram, why is Nigeria not negotiating the release of the remaining 219 girls that are still in captivity.
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