The #BringBackOurGirls coalition said it would resume daily marches to the Presidential Villa for one week starting from Sunday to compel the Federal Government to accelerate actions necessary to rescue the rest of the 196 Chibok girls to their “grossly disappointed parents.”
The movement in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja said it would relocate its daily sit-in to the State House as part of activities to mark the 1,000th day since the abduction of the schoolgirls by the Boko Haram sect.
The group said it was disappointed by the lack of communication from the Federal Government on the reported negotiation for 83 of the Chibok girls after 21 of them were released in October last year.
It stated that the government contradicted itself by the recent declaration and celebration of the capture of Sambisa Forest as the end of the war.
The BBOG in the statement read by Aisha Yesufu accused the government of relapsing into the ‘lethargy and complacency’ that had been recurrent in the case of the abducted girls.
The coalition queried the significance of the capture of Sambisa Forest without the rescue of the remaining Chibok schoolgirls.
It said, “We are doubly disappointed that the Federal Government contradicted itself by the recent declaration and celebration of the capture of Sambisa Forest as the end of the war.
“This action is contrary to the pledge that the President and the military made repeatedly on several occasions that they would not declare victory without the rescue of our Chibok girls and all other abducted victims of terrorist abduction.”
Noting that it was a few days away from Day 1000 of the abduction of the girls, the movement decried the lack of communication on the status of the negotiation for the release of the remaining girls by the government.
It added, “Our movement is therefore again constrained to resume our marches to mark the #DAY1000 tragic milestone. Our movement expects the President to regard the #Day1000 milestone as an overdue time to bring this horrific saga to a final closure.
“We shall therefore carry out a series of activities for a period of one week, using our 24-hourly marches to compel our Federal Government to accelerate the decision and actions necessary to bring back the rest of our Chibok girls to their grossly disappointed parents.”
During the sit-ins, the group disclosed that it would advocate the welfare of Internally Displaced Persons and the military and also discuss corruption and poor governance and the insecurity in parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army on Tuesday said it was pursuing every available lead on the abducted Chibok schoolgirls and other Boko Haram captives.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, who said this in a briefing, reiterated that despite the capture of the Sambisa Forest, which was the Boko Haram’s stronghold, the rescue of the girls was a still a top priority for the troops.
Usman added that the army would not rest on its oars until the rescue was made.
He said, “We know that our Chibok schoolgirls are still in the hands of the terrorists. The Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole and the General Officer Commanding, 7 Division, have both assured Nigerians that we will not rest on our oars until every Nigerian captive of the Boko Haram, including the Chibok girls, are rescued.
“We have information and leads which we are working on to rescue the girls. We want Nigerians to keep praying for us to achieve that objective.”
On the mopping up of the Sambisa Forest, the director said the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, had ordered that the annual army sports’ championship be held in the forest this year.
On the activities of cattle rustlers and bandits in Zamfara State, the director said troops had recovered 9,865 rustled cattle and handed them over to their owners in the past months, adding that a number of suspected cattle rustlers had also been arrested.
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