BBOG renews campaign for Chibok girls’ release — to mark 7th anniversary

The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement has renewed its campaign for the release of Chibok schoolgirls.

It has been seven years since 276 schoolgirls of Government Girls’ Secondary school (GGSS), Chibok, Borno state were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents.

The girls were preparing for their final year examination when the insurgents attacked in the middle of the night.

The incident was followed by a global outcry that birthed the #BringBackOurGirls movement, and despite continued efforts to secure the freedom of the girls, only 103 have been rescued so far.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the group said it is launching an ‘Until All Are Free’ campaign to get the remaining girls out of captivity.

“We, the parents, relations and supporters of the 112 of our Chibok Girls who remain unaccounted for are disturbed, disconcerted and distressed to know that for seven years, our cries have fallen on deaf ears; for seven years, the children of the rich and elite have grown in opulence and happiness while our beloved young women remain in captivity, forced into lives of unimaginable cruelty and privation,” the statement read.

“Even as we observe that other atrocities against Nigerian schoolchildren and students assault the sensibilities of Nigerians, and those children are returned to their families; the fate of our missing 112 Chibok Girls and the continuing trauma of Chibok parents and their communities are slipping from public consciousness and are no longer a priority for the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“On April 14th, 2021, we will be holding a series of actions to mark the seven year anniversary of the abduction in Lagos, Abuja, New York and Chibok. In these events, we will highlight the voices of the Chibok families whose lives have been shattered for seven years, as they face the devastating reality of their government’s neglect.

“We remind President Muhammadu Buhari of the statement he made at his inauguration in 2015: ‘We cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.’

“But the actions – or rather, the inaction – of the Federal Government over our daughters in repeatedly claiming that the terrorists have been defeated even though our girls remain in bondage, is a painful reminder that this administration does not value the lives of our precious girls. They have been abandoned by the government that is supposed to protect them and promised to do so.”

In its seven demands, the group asked the government to bring back the girls without further delay.

It also called on the government to provide a comprehensive report on the status of all investigations, operations, and missions to bring back the remaining 112 girls, and to also “release the report by General Ibrahim Sabo”.

The group said in the next six months, BBOG Abuja, BBOG Lagos, BBOG New York, and other BBOG groups around the world will come together to push for a logical end to seven years of advocacy.