14 DAY TRIAL // Protesters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, plan to stage a massive protest on Wednesday to show their frustration with the government’s handling of the search for the 230 schoolgirls aged 16-18 kidnapped by Boko Haram Islamists on April 14.
The members of the Women for Peace and Justice Organization have announced that they will hold a “million-woman march” to demand the release of the remaining 187 female students of the Government Secondary School who are still missing after being abducted from their hostel in Chibok, Borno State, two weeks ago. They plan on walking through the capital city of Abuja to the National Assembly.
“The procession will start from the Unity Fountain, Maitama, and march to the National Assembly and the office of the National Security Adviser to deliver letters to the Senate President, Speaker and National Security Adviser, respectively,” the spokesperson of the women, Hadiza Usman, announced.
She also added that the protesters would then return to the Unity Fountain and some spokespersons will address the crowd and the media.
According to Gulf News, the women want the Nigerian government to dedicate more resources to find the missing girls, who might have been abducted to be sold as wives abroad, according to a local official.
“How is it possible in the age of drones and Google Maps and aerial shots that over 200 girls will vanish without a trace?” they asked.
“For how long are we going to wait for the government to help us? We can't bear it anymore ... We just want the government to help us, we want the world to hear this and help us,” a woman from Chibok added.
The mass abduction has sparked outrage and lots of debates over the conflicting reports regarding the number of missing girls and the military’s search-and-rescue effort.
Forty-three girls have been rescued and reunited with their families. However, many of them have actually managed to escape from their kidnappers, so the government has little merits in their rescue.
While parents are desperate for news of their daughters, some of the victims who have been found said the hostages were taken to Borno's Sambisa Forest area, where Boko Haram has well-fortified camps.
The fact that Islamist fighters from the Boko Haram group, whose name translates as “Western education is forbidden,” can still roam freely across parts of Borno state highlights the limitations of the current military strategy in the area.