Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State yesterday
declared three days of fasting and prayers in the state for the safe return of
the students of Government Girls Secondary Schoool, Chibok, who were abducted
by Boko Haram last month.
The fasting will run from Monday, May 12 to...
Wednesday, May 14 for God to intervene in the rescue of the girls. Receiving
participants in a protest organised by the Kibaku Area Development Association
(KADA), Chibok, in Maiduguri, the governor asked every Nigerians, regardless of
religion, to join the three-day fasting.
He said that the issue at stake is beyond
politics and religion because, according to him, the abduction borders parents
everywhere.
He hailed the American first lady, Michelle
Obama, for supporting the cause of the freedom of the girls.
Shettima noted that without the support of
concerned citizens of the world like Michelle Obama, her husband and many other
leaders around the world, little would have been known about the plight of the
victims.
“The people of Nigeria say no to this unfortunate
development and I assure you that we will do all we can to get you out of this
pains you are going through,” he told the women.
Earlier, spokesperson for the KADA people, Alabe
Grema, called on the managers of security in Abuja to take concrete steps to
free the abducted teenagers.
Grema spoke of the psychological trauma being
faced by his people following the abduction and prayed that the pains would end
soon.
Among the protesters were women and elders of
Chibok, including those whose daughters were abducted.
The mother of Helen Jarma, one of the victims,
wept all through the protest.
She told reporters that since she could not go to
the Sambisa forest to get her daughter, the best she can do now is to cry until
she returns.
On the allegation by Amnesty International that
the military had foreknowledge of the abduction four hours before it occurred,
Governor Shettima said that while he appreciated the “sacrifices” of security
agencies in checking the menace of Boko Haram in the state, he had no reason to
doubt the findings of the organisation.
But he said that with the AI’s findings directed
at the Federal Government, the state government would prefer to stay out of it.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mallam
Isa Gusau, in a statement yesterday on the AI report said the governor “will
not comment” on it.
“But the Governor deeply appreciates the efforts
and sacrifices of security agencies in Borno State who have been engaged in
counter-insurgency operations in the last three years with some of them laying
their lives for the state. The Governor also respects the Amnesty International
as a credible institution and will not doubt its findings,” he said.
“The Governor is very much committed to
supporting ongoing search and rescue efforts to free Borno’s precious
daughters.
“More than any other person in position of
authority, Governor Shettima is deeply pained by that unfortunate abduction and
is committed to providing all necessary support security agencies and community
volunteers towards freeing his daughters.”
source: thenationonline.net
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