Girls’ Abductions A Last Straw For Nigerians
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Girls’ Abductions A Last Straw For Nigerians
by Mazy Sun 18 May 2014, 03:08
They are only separated from the Sudan by Chad
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Girls’ Abductions A Last Straw For Nigerians
Government needs to get serious in protecting residents
MAY 7, 2014
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Members of various civil society organizations protest against the delay in securing the release of the abducted schoolgirls who were kidnapped, in Abuja on April 30, 2014.
© 2014 Reuters
Author(s):
Mausi Segun
Salon
MAY 6, 2014
The images of sorrowful parents, weeping profusely and brokenly asking when their daughters would be rescued, have struck a chord across Nigeria. The murmurs of discontent swelled with the government’s confused and inadequate responses to basic questions about the abduction of more than 276 girls from their secondary school by suspected Islamic militants. The frustration reached a crescendo when unconfirmed rumors surfaced that the girls might have been sold into marriage to members of the militant group for a $12 dowry.
Social media groups organized around the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls have demanded government action. Women’s groups and other concerned people have joined in solidarity with the grieving parents. Defying the pelting rain that soaked their red dresses and turned their posters into wet blobs, hundreds of people marched to the National Assembly in Abuja last Wednesday. Similar rallies have taken place in Kano and Lagos and in various cities around the world.
The abductions late in the evening of April 14, the same day an early morning bomb blast killed more than 70 people in a suburb of Abuja, was too much tragedy for most Nigerians. The dreaded insurgent group Boko Haram, which claimed responsibility for the deadly explosion, is also suspected in the abductions.
The Girls’ Secondary School in the town of Chibok had been closed since February along with all schools in Borno state after threats from Boko Haram. The school had reopened just so the girls could take their final exams. Disguised as security forces, Boko Haram apparently lured the girls into their vehicles. When the insurgents set fire to the school buildings and shot and killed a soldier and a policeman guarding the school, the authorities determined that they were most likely Boko Haram in disguise. Some of the girls managed to jump out of the moving trucks by holding onto low-hanging tree branches, while a few later escaped from the insurgents’ camp in the Sambisa Forest Reserve, 40 kilometers north.
Boko Haram, which roughly translates as “Western education is forbidden,” has either claimed responsibility or expressed support for previous attacks on schools in Nigeria’s beleaguered northeast region. In February, male students of the Federal Government College, in Buni Yadi, were killed, while the girls were ordered to leave school and get married. In Konduga in Feburary, unidentified gunmen abducted at least 20 students of Girls Science Secondary School, as well as five girls selling goods on the street.
In November, Human Rights Watch documented Boko Haram’s abduction of several girls and women, snatching them off the streets or public transport vehicles, or from their parents, throwing money at them, presumably as a form of dowry. Some of the girls later returned home, either pregnant or with babies.
Abubakar Shekau, the Boko Haram leader, threatened a year ago to embark on a series of kidnappings of women and children in retaliation for the arrest and detention by security forces of the wives and children of insurgents, including Shekau’s. In response, the Nigerian government, under the banner of its then-proposed dialogue program, released 96 women and children between May and July. Security forces, working with local vigilante groups, also claimed to have rescued several women following raids on the group’s camps in Borno State. This March, Shekau repeated his threat when hundreds of insurgents were killed during an attack on Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri.
It is difficult to understand, however, why Boko Haram, which has claimed responsibility for the abduction, would target this particular school. It could be that the insurgents considered the reopening of the school so close to a Boko Haram camp an affront. Or it may just be that, because of their constant movement, the insurgents needed a new supply of women and girls to take care of their domestic and sexual needs.
The Chibok abduction is one of many blamed on the insurgents, but it is unique in its scale and style, and the conflicting reports about the exact number of girls involved and whether any had been rescued by security forces.
The question for many Nigerians is where the security forces were when the gunmen sacked the town and then the school over a four-hour period. In addition, the short journey to Sambisa apparently took 48 hours because the insurgents’ trucks kept breaking down.
The protest marches are a statement that Nigerians have had enough of the government’s inability to combat the murderous scourge of Boko Haram. The government urgently needs a strategy for protecting its residents that respects everyone’s rights, including protesters. And it needs to address — finally — the systemic issues of corruption, poverty and impunity that have fueled this kind of violence against schoolgirls.
Government needs to get serious in protecting residents
MAY 7, 2014
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Members of various civil society organizations protest against the delay in securing the release of the abducted schoolgirls who were kidnapped, in Abuja on April 30, 2014.
© 2014 Reuters
Author(s):
Mausi Segun
Salon
MAY 6, 2014
The images of sorrowful parents, weeping profusely and brokenly asking when their daughters would be rescued, have struck a chord across Nigeria. The murmurs of discontent swelled with the government’s confused and inadequate responses to basic questions about the abduction of more than 276 girls from their secondary school by suspected Islamic militants. The frustration reached a crescendo when unconfirmed rumors surfaced that the girls might have been sold into marriage to members of the militant group for a $12 dowry.
Social media groups organized around the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls have demanded government action. Women’s groups and other concerned people have joined in solidarity with the grieving parents. Defying the pelting rain that soaked their red dresses and turned their posters into wet blobs, hundreds of people marched to the National Assembly in Abuja last Wednesday. Similar rallies have taken place in Kano and Lagos and in various cities around the world.
The abductions late in the evening of April 14, the same day an early morning bomb blast killed more than 70 people in a suburb of Abuja, was too much tragedy for most Nigerians. The dreaded insurgent group Boko Haram, which claimed responsibility for the deadly explosion, is also suspected in the abductions.
The Girls’ Secondary School in the town of Chibok had been closed since February along with all schools in Borno state after threats from Boko Haram. The school had reopened just so the girls could take their final exams. Disguised as security forces, Boko Haram apparently lured the girls into their vehicles. When the insurgents set fire to the school buildings and shot and killed a soldier and a policeman guarding the school, the authorities determined that they were most likely Boko Haram in disguise. Some of the girls managed to jump out of the moving trucks by holding onto low-hanging tree branches, while a few later escaped from the insurgents’ camp in the Sambisa Forest Reserve, 40 kilometers north.
Boko Haram, which roughly translates as “Western education is forbidden,” has either claimed responsibility or expressed support for previous attacks on schools in Nigeria’s beleaguered northeast region. In February, male students of the Federal Government College, in Buni Yadi, were killed, while the girls were ordered to leave school and get married. In Konduga in Feburary, unidentified gunmen abducted at least 20 students of Girls Science Secondary School, as well as five girls selling goods on the street.
In November, Human Rights Watch documented Boko Haram’s abduction of several girls and women, snatching them off the streets or public transport vehicles, or from their parents, throwing money at them, presumably as a form of dowry. Some of the girls later returned home, either pregnant or with babies.
Abubakar Shekau, the Boko Haram leader, threatened a year ago to embark on a series of kidnappings of women and children in retaliation for the arrest and detention by security forces of the wives and children of insurgents, including Shekau’s. In response, the Nigerian government, under the banner of its then-proposed dialogue program, released 96 women and children between May and July. Security forces, working with local vigilante groups, also claimed to have rescued several women following raids on the group’s camps in Borno State. This March, Shekau repeated his threat when hundreds of insurgents were killed during an attack on Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri.
It is difficult to understand, however, why Boko Haram, which has claimed responsibility for the abduction, would target this particular school. It could be that the insurgents considered the reopening of the school so close to a Boko Haram camp an affront. Or it may just be that, because of their constant movement, the insurgents needed a new supply of women and girls to take care of their domestic and sexual needs.
The Chibok abduction is one of many blamed on the insurgents, but it is unique in its scale and style, and the conflicting reports about the exact number of girls involved and whether any had been rescued by security forces.
The question for many Nigerians is where the security forces were when the gunmen sacked the town and then the school over a four-hour period. In addition, the short journey to Sambisa apparently took 48 hours because the insurgents’ trucks kept breaking down.
The protest marches are a statement that Nigerians have had enough of the government’s inability to combat the murderous scourge of Boko Haram. The government urgently needs a strategy for protecting its residents that respects everyone’s rights, including protesters. And it needs to address — finally — the systemic issues of corruption, poverty and impunity that have fueled this kind of violence against schoolgirls.
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Mazy- Achieving total Clooney-dom
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Re: Girls’ Abductions A Last Straw For Nigerians
by theminis Sun 18 May 2014, 08:31
I still cannot believe that in this day and age such horrors can still occur - whatever happened to the old adage - The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing - so where are all the good men??
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Re: Girls’ Abductions A Last Straw For Nigerians
by Butterfly Sun 18 May 2014, 11:49
May God hold these girls safely in His arms, until the help comes along. I will pray for them
I am sending out positive vibes and hopes right now...
I am sending out positive vibes and hopes right now...
Butterfly- Shooting hoops with George Clooney
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Re: Girls’ Abductions A Last Straw For Nigerians
by Nicky80 Sun 18 May 2014, 11:59
For me it is unbelievable that it takes so long to rescue them. Who knows what those people will do to them.
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Re: Girls’ Abductions A Last Straw For Nigerians
by Maggy Sun 18 May 2014, 18:19
Me too, along with prayers!Butterfly wrote:May God hold these girls safely in His arms, until the help comes along. I will pray for them
I am sending out positive vibes and hopes right now...
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Re: Girls’ Abductions A Last Straw For Nigerians
by Mazy Mon 19 May 2014, 00:25
theminis wrote:I still cannot believe that in this day and age such horrors can still occur - whatever happened to the old adage - The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing - so where are all the good men??
I agree and it breaks your heart wanting to do something and are helpless. Pray Pray and more.
Mazy- Achieving total Clooney-dom
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Join date : 2012-11-03
Re: Girls’ Abductions A Last Straw For Nigerians
by Nicky80 Wed 28 May 2014, 21:14
Google translation
Kidnapped pupils: Four girls succeed fleeing Boko Haram
Since six weeks, more than 200 Nigerian girls are prisoners of Boko Haram . Now, four students have rescued themselves from the terrorist sect .
Abuja - The few girls who previously were able to free themselves from the clutches of Boko Haram to raise serious allegations . They felt shipped , let down . Some of the runaways said they had been abused and raped. There are still more than 200 students who had been kidnapped in April in the Nigerian Chibok , in the violence of the terrorist sect . Four of them are now escape their captors , as the Reuters news agency reports .
219 girls should still be in the Islamist group . Just yesterday it was revealed that the Nigerian Army has information on the whereabouts of the girl. However, the Army wanted to reveal anything about the place , the search operation was a " military secret" . The girls should also not be freed by force. The risk that they die in the process , the army is too high.
Mid-May pleaded the Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in a video to the kidnapping. He said some of the hostages were now converted to Islam . A week earlier he had threatened the girl should be forced into marriage or enslaved. After the release of a video with the kidnapped students 77 girls were identified.
Nigeria receives in the search for the girls international support. The United States sends military , reconnaissance aircraft and drones. The Nigerian government was advised because of their sluggish response to the kidnapping in the criticism, but reiterated last their determination to find the students.
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Kidnapped pupils: Four girls succeed fleeing Boko Haram
Since six weeks, more than 200 Nigerian girls are prisoners of Boko Haram . Now, four students have rescued themselves from the terrorist sect .
Abuja - The few girls who previously were able to free themselves from the clutches of Boko Haram to raise serious allegations . They felt shipped , let down . Some of the runaways said they had been abused and raped. There are still more than 200 students who had been kidnapped in April in the Nigerian Chibok , in the violence of the terrorist sect . Four of them are now escape their captors , as the Reuters news agency reports .
219 girls should still be in the Islamist group . Just yesterday it was revealed that the Nigerian Army has information on the whereabouts of the girl. However, the Army wanted to reveal anything about the place , the search operation was a " military secret" . The girls should also not be freed by force. The risk that they die in the process , the army is too high.
Mid-May pleaded the Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in a video to the kidnapping. He said some of the hostages were now converted to Islam . A week earlier he had threatened the girl should be forced into marriage or enslaved. After the release of a video with the kidnapped students 77 girls were identified.
Nigeria receives in the search for the girls international support. The United States sends military , reconnaissance aircraft and drones. The Nigerian government was advised because of their sluggish response to the kidnapping in the criticism, but reiterated last their determination to find the students.
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Nicky80- Casamigos with Mr Clooney
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Re: Girls’ Abductions A Last Straw For Nigerians
by Mazy Wed 28 May 2014, 22:37
I cannot imagine the horror that they are feeling, maybe thinking that all have abandoned them. God bless.
Mazy- Achieving total Clooney-dom
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Join date : 2012-11-03
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