- Title: It's been 2000 days since Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls
- Date: 7th October 2019
- Summary: ABUJA, NIGERIA (OCTOBER 5, 2019) (REUTERS) ROWS OF PAIRS OF SANDALS WITH NAMES OF MISSING GIRLS WRITTEN ON PLACARDS NEXT TO THEM A PAIR OF SANDALS WITH NAME OF KIDNAPPED GIRL "JINKAI YAMA" WRITTEN ON CARD VARIOUS OF MAUREEN KABRIK GIVING A SPEECH TO OTHER 'BRING BACK OUR GIRLS' (BBOG) CAMPAIGNERS VARIOUS OF BBOG CAMPAIGNERS LISTENING TO KABRIK SPEAK PAIR OF SANDALS WITH NAME OF KIDNAPPED GIRL "HANNATU NUHU" WRITTEN ON CARD (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABUJA COORDINATOR, BRING BACK OUR GIRLS, MAUREEN KABRIK, SAYING: "Today is a sad day for us as BBOG members. Today is another painful reminder for us that our daughters are yet to come back, 112 of them. 276 were abducted but somehow some rescued themselves, some escaped, and over a 100 were rescued by the government and we still have 112 in abduction. So today for us is a sad reminder that 112 are still in abduction including Leah Sharibu (Abductee who refused to renounce Christianity) and so many others that we do not even know of." (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN, CHIBOK COMMUNITY ABUJA, NKEKI MUTAH, SAYING: "Upon all the loss of our daughters, and in spite of that, government have relaxed and allowing terrorists to destroy our community, killing our people, taking over our land, so honestly we lack words to express to this government." VARIOUS OF BBOG CAMPAIGNERS CHANTING VARIOUS OF WOMAN CRYING
- Embargoed: 21st October 2019 13:31
- Keywords: Chibok Anniversary Insecurity Boko Haram Abduction
- Location: ABUJA, NIGERIA
- City: ABUJA, NIGERIA
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Insurgencies
- Reuters ID: LVA001B03KQ53
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:One hundred and twelve pairs of shoes and the names of the Chibok school girls who are still missing were on public display in the capital city of Abuja on Saturday (October 5). The demonstration was staged by members of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group as they marked 2,000 days since the world woke up to the news of the abduction.
The abduction of 276 schoolgirls aged 14 to 25 from a school in Chibok in Nigeria's northeast Borno state on April 14, 2014, was Boko Haram's most high-profile kidnapping.
Sixty girls managed to escape in the melee following their abduction, while others have been released in recent years. 112 are still missing and their condition is unknown.
A social media campaign on the schoolgirls' abduction went viral, boosted by support from then U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and media celebrities, as the kidnapping dominated international headlines.
"Today is a sad day for us as BBOG members. Today is another painful reminder for us that our daughters are yet to come back, 112 of them. 276 were abducted but somehow some rescued themselves, some escaped, and over a 100 were rescued by the government and we still have 112 in abduction. So today for us is a sad reminder that 112 are still in abduction including Leah Sharibu (Abductee who refused to renounce Christianity) and so many others that we do not even know of," says Maureen Kabrik, the Abuja coordinator of the BBOG.
"Upon all the loss of our daughters, in spite of that government has relaxed and allowing terrorists to destroy our community, killing our people, taking over our lands, so honestly we lack words to express to this government," said Nkeki Mutah, who heads the Chibok community living in Abuja.
Nigeria's northeast has remained the country's biggest insecurity challenge since the rise of the Boko Haram Islamists.
The militant group has kidnapped thousands, killed more than 20,000 people, and forced about 2 million to flee their homes since 2009 when it began fighting to create an Islamic state.
The group also abducted 100 school girls in the northeastern town of Dapchi in 2018. Almost all the girls were released a month later.
At least 4,000 girls, boys and women have been abducted by Boko Haram since 2009, according to a 2018 Amnesty International report, with reports that they were used as cooks, sex slaves, fighters and even carriers of suicide bombs.
(Production: Greg Terlumun, Nneka Chile, Angela Ukomadu) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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