TheCable

The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement and 164 women groups have asked the government to rescue all girls and women that have been abducted by Boko Haram and reunite them with their families.

In a statement on Wednesday, the groups condemned the recently reported attack and abduction of women and girls at Malaharam in Biu local government area of Borno, saying such incidents represent the failure of governance on the part of the government.

Noting lack of security as an urgent and ongoing problem in Nigeria, they advised the government to harness the skills and knowledge base of Nigerians at home and abroad “to take back our country from vicious insurgents who have menaced our fellow citizens and brutalized them for far too long”.

It also asked the government to find ways of reducing gender-based violence.

“We denounce the renewed spate of abductions by Boko Haram is in response to the recently reported abductions of women and girls from Malaharam in the Biu Local Government Area of Borno State on Friday, June 26, 2020,” the groups said.

“#BringBackOurGirls emphasizes that this and previous abductions constitute a failure of governance by the Nigerian government, which has the primary responsibility and should take the lead in bringing back our girls and women.

“Besides rescuing all our abducted girls and women, a comprehensive political, economic and social set of strategies must be devised to bring peace and security to the embattled populations in the northeast and other parts of the country and to reduce the alarming increase in gender-based violence.”

The groups, which said security is a right of all citizens, asked the federal government to live up to its responsibility by ensuring the safety of the lives of Nigerians.

“#BringBackOurGirls emphasizes that Article 14 of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended) states that ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government’,” they said.

“The Nigerian government should uphold the constitution and live up to its promise. It must demonstrate that it takes its constitutional responsibilities seriously. It must clearly show that it guarantees the human security of all its citizens.

“We demand that the Nigerian government should ensure all Nigerians and the world at large that human security is a right of all our citizens, and it will guarantee them safe, meaningful, and enduring peace and security, as well as freedom from fear of abduction, all over the country.

“We reiterate this urgent call upon the Federal Government of Nigeria to rescue all our abducted girls and women NOW!
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!”