Abuja (Nigeria): It has been 365 days since 200 Schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram Terrorists in Nigeria’s Chibook, however no trace of girls could be found. A silent protest was held in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Monday (April 13) to mark one year of the kidnapping.
Protests against Boko Haram Kidnapping of 200 Schoolgirls in 2014
Protesters wearing red tape across their lips walked silently through the capital marking a year since Boko Haram kidnapped the girls, aged 16 and 18, from a secondary school in Chibok.
“We decided that we’ve spoken so often about this and we’re just going to try to show the people what it feels like to have your voice taken,” said coordinator of the “Bring Back our Girls” campaign, Oby Ezekwesili.
“When your voice is taken from you, which is what the terrorists have done to our daughters,” she added.
Boko Haram, who are fighting to carve out an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, attacked the girls’ secondary school during exam time.
President Goodluck Jonathan’s perceived slow reaction to the abduction caused widespread anger and a global campaign to find them, fueling a public appetite for decisive military action from a strongman such as Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s president elect.
“You know there are times that you are in pain that to the extent that you don’t say a word. People talk to you, you have no answers for them, so for us we have reached this moment where tomorrow is going to be one year and it’s so painful that sadly we might wake up tomorrow and our girls are still not back. We have talked and talked and talked for 364 days today so we feel it’s time to just go silent and express our pain by being quiet,” protester Maureen Kabrik said.
Boko Haram is regarded as the worst threat to the future of Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and oil producer.