Presidency reinforces security ahead of BBOG protest

Security was beefed up around the presidential villa, Abuja, on Tuesday morning, ahead of a planned protest rally by the BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) campaigners.

The BBOG campaigners said they wanted to use the medium to know what the presidency had been doing about the rescue of the schoolgirls abducted from the Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno, on April 14.

According to NAN, Rotimi Olawale, the media coordinator of the group, issued a statement to announce a march to the Villa on Tuesday “to engage with President Goodluck Jonathan”.

It said the purpose of the engagement was “to convey the urgency of the girls’ rescue and to hear directly from the president on the status of the rescue efforts by security agencies”.

The march is scheduled to begin at the Unity Fountain, located close to Transcorp Hilton Hotels, Maitama, and proceed to the state house through the federal secretariat.

But as early as 8.20 am, there had been heavy presence of armed security men at the two major gates leading to the villa, apparently to forestall possible breakdown of order.

At the gate around the Fire Service side of Asokoro, armed policemen and soldiers were stationed at the traffic light junction before the usual security checkpoint.

The same situation played out at the federal secretariat end of the entrance.

Armed policemen and soldiers from the brigades of guards were stationed at a spot between the villa gate and the access road leading to the national assembly.

This will the second presidential-villa  protest by the group. In May, a BBOG crowd marched to the villa, where they were addressed in the rain by some top government officials, including Olajumoke Akinjide, minister of state for FCT, on behalf of the president.