Sambisa and Chibok: A year of tears
Before the Chibok girls, several women and girls had been abducted but the Chibok incident drew attention to the crimes against humanity being perpetrated in the area invaded by the insurgents. Since that sad incident, members of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign have been sending a consistent message: #BRING BACK OUR GIRLS “What are we […]
Before the Chibok girls, several women and girls had been abducted but the Chibok incident drew attention to the crimes against humanity being perpetrated in the area invaded by the insurgents. Since that sad incident, members of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign have been sending a consistent message:
#BRING BACK OUR GIRLS
“What are we demanding?”
…Bring back our girls, now and alive!
“What is our singularity of purpose?”
…Bring back our girls, now and alive!
“What do we want?”
…Results from the rescue operation!
“What are we asking?”
…The truth and nothing but the truth!
“When will we stop?”
…Until our girls are back and alive!
‘Concerned individuals and groups in cities nationwide and other parts from around the world will be marking April 14 to show that we have not forgotten the plight of those girls and many other victims of conflict whom they represent. It also serves as a reminder to the authorities that “Nigerian lives matter” and their citizens demand action and results to rescue the girls and prevent a similar occurrence.
From Borno State, the scene of the abduction, Professor Hauwa Biu sent information that activists will move to Chibok community to commemorate the first year of the abduction of our dear daughters. The choice of Chibok as the venue of activities is to show solidarity with the parents and families of the girls. The main activities will be prayers and a world press conference.
From Lagos, Habiba Balogun of Murtala Mohammed Foundation MMF said members of the BringBackOurGirls family in Lagos have been organizing marches, rallies, medical care for escaped girls and their families, donating relief materials to refugees of the conflict, meeting every single Saturday since May 2014. MMF has also set up a Trauma Counselling Centre in the north for victims of the conflict.
For the anniversary event, the activists staged a roll-call and interfaith vigil at Falomo Lagos. Placards with the missing girls’ names were produced.
In other parts of the world, concerned groups also remembered our girls, speaking out and demanding justice. From New York, Professor Mojubaolu O Okome said activities lined up for the one year commemoration included a television interview on Arise News, a commemoration at Dag Hammarskjold Park, United Nations. The event organised by Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, witnessed the formal announcement of the lighting of the Empire State Building red for our girls, and purple for an end to violence against women. On April 14 2015, there was an Interfaith Vigil at UN Church House Chapel, followed by a Schoolgirl March to Nigeria House and a procession to the Empire State Building to see the lights. The campaign messages are #ChibokGirls #NeverToBeForgotten #BringBackOurGirls.
From Paris, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) issued a press release through the African Press Organisation APO on April 13 recalling that a year ago ‘276 schoolgirls were kidnapped at Chibok by the Nigerian armed group Boko Haram. While some of the girls managed to escape, rumours have recently circulated in the press that the others may have been murdered. The Nigerian authorities must determine their whereabouts and inform the families, protect those who may still be alive and return them to their families. “Goodluck Jonathan’s government failed to prevent these crimes, to prosecute and punish the perpetrators and to protect the victims. The new President must do better, and fast,” declared Karim Lahidji, FIDH President.
The tragic event drew the attention of the international community to the crimes committed by Boko Haram over the past ten years, which have repeatedly targeted women and girls. After the abductions, the group announced that the schoolgirls would be sold, married by force and reduced to slavery. There were reports that several girls had been raped and it is feared they may have been killed’ Dr. Stephen Davies, the Australian negotiator said as much when he indicted some highly placed Nigerians as sponsors of Boko Haram.
FIDH strongly urges the Nigerian authorities to take all necessary measures, in accordance with international human rights law, to localise and protect the girls. Nigeria has an obligation to guarantee their security, their physical and moral integrity, and their right to justice and reparation. The government must also urgently inform the families of the girls’ fate; the uncertainty surrounding their circumstances is unbearable.
FIDH underlines that such crimes fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and are currently under examination by the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC. In the absence of genuine proceedings in Nigeria to bring those responsible to justice, the ICC should open an investigation.
In February 2015, FIDH released a report “Nigeria: Mass Crimes of Boko Haram” (in French), which documents the crimes of Boko Haram since its creation in 2002.’ Since 2009, it is estimated that almost 13,000 persons have been killed by Boko Haram mainly in northern Nigeria and approximately 1.5 million people are refugees or have been internally displaced by the conflict. In Borno state alone, Boko Haram is reported to have kidnapped between 500 and 2,000 women since 2013.
As we commemorate the Chibok abduction with a heavy heart and tears in our eyes, we Demand Justice and #BRING BACK OUR GIRLS!