#BringBackOurGirls group has said that President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian government have failed in their primary responsibility of protecting the lives of citizens.
The group has been at the forefront of the campaign for the release of the over 200 Chibok girls abducted from their school in Borno State in 2014 by Boko Haram.
Some of the girls – 112 of them – are yet to return home.
BBOG issued a statement on Saturday to mark the girls’ 2,000 days in captivity.
Condemnation
The group, in the statement, said Mr Buhari’s administration “appears to be at ease” over similar abduction of citizens and the general insecurity across Nigeria.
The government is “only concerned about protecting a fake-reputation that offers its citizens no value”, the group said in the statement signed on its behalf by the trio of Florence Ozor, Gapani Yanga, and Nifemi Onifade.
“We note with heartbreaking dismay, the incapacity, apathy and failed leadership displayed by the President and the Federal Government in the wake of the abduction of six students and two staff members of Engravers College in Kaduna on the 3rd of October 2019.
“This continues a distressing pattern of a failure to secure, preserve and dignify the lives of citizens.
“To this end, the students and staff of Engravers College join a number of citizens who remain missing – including Leah Sharibu, Alice Ngaddah, Grace Taku and her colleagues as well as many others. How can we have continued this way?”
‘Open sore’
The statement said it is a shame on Nigeria and an open sore of the world, for the remaining Chibok girls to still be in captivity for 2,000 days now.
“Over the past 2,000 days, our #ChibokGirls have been denied their fundamental rights to freedom. For simply seeking education on the path of growth and fulfillment, they have been forced to suffer unimaginable horrors by enemies of humanity.
“Their families and communities have also borne severe hardships within a war that continues to destroy lives and impede human progress.”
The group, which demanded the release of the girls, said they will continue to “stand, keep the faith and hold out the light” for the Chibok girls and other Nigerians in captivity.
Demand
Oby Ezekwesili, a former minister of education and one of the leading voices for the Chibok girls, took to Twitter on Saturday to call for the release of the girls.
“How can children who trusted our country and showed up in school to be educated end this way?
“How can our remaining 112 Chibokgirls still be missing under the government of @NGRPresident @MBuhari who gave their parents a pledge to rescue them?” Mrs Ezekwesili posted on the social media site, using her handle @obyezeks.
By Premium Times
