Ezekwesili: Kidnap of policewomen in Borno replay of Chibok abduction

Oby Ezekwesili, co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group, says it is sad the federal government is denying there are no policewomen in Boko Haram captivity.

She said this when the group marched to Aso Rock, Nigeria’s seat of power, to press for the release of the 113 Chibok girls still in captivity.

The female police officers were kidnapped after Boko Haram fighters attacked a convoy of security personnel in the Damboa area of Borno state while they were going for a burial in Adamawa.

Borno police command subsequently denied that there are police officers being held by the sect, saying there is no evidence indicating that the abducted officers are being held by the sect.

The command’s claim came shortly after Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram leader, released a video, claiming the women have become their slaves.

Ezekwesili said it is “painful” that three years after the kidnap of the Chibok schoolgirls, the “drama of denial” is still being replayed.

While asking the federal government to address citizens on the issue, she said the BBOG had written to the government about the abducted policewomen but “nothing, not a single word has been heard from them”.

“How can female police officers be abductd and government refuses to acknowledge that they were abducted? At what time will the federal government or the presidency going to address the populace on the issue?” she asked.

“We can see a direct link between the abduction of our Chibok girls and the many incidents of abduction that has taken place since then. Every time a bad behaviour happens in our society, the government creates room for it to fester.

She also asked the federal government to “immediately” send a high powered delegation to the parents of the remaining abducted Chibok girls and brief them on the efforts being made to rescue the girls.

She further expressed the group’s disappointment that three months after the release of the 82 girls, the government was yet to give any update on those in captivity.

“It is not right since the release of some of their counterparts, nothing has been said or done concerning their release,” she said.

“If only one voice remains, that would continue to demand for the release of our Chibok girls, it is good enough. It’s enough to re-echo our voice across the universe.

“We were of the conviction that the government, which managed to secure the release of 82 of them will also secure the release of the remaining 113. We thought that the government has figured a way to get back our girls so we estimated that the remaining 113 will return in lesser time it took the 82 to come home.

“Today we are out because we do not agree with the way the government is handling the issue of the girls still in captivity.”