Provide prove of life for remaining Chibok girls, #BBOG tells Federal Government

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Members of the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy have demanded that the Government provides prove of life video for the remaining Chibok girls.

The group in a statement said that indications by Journalist Ahmed Salkida revealed that most of the girls might have suffered fatalities.

A statement signed by leaders of the group, Former Minister of Education and leader of the group Oby Ezekwesili, Aisha Yesufu and Florence Ozor stated.

“Today is Day 1466 (4 years and 5 days)  since schoolgirls of Government Secondary School, Chibok were abducted in their school on 14 April 2014, 112 of them remain missing.

“Following our activities across cities in Nigeria and around the world to mark the sad occasion, with the flagship 2nd Annual #ChibokGirls Lecture, it is imperative for our movement to state our position on some key emerging issues:

“There are indications by Ahmad Salkida, a journalist who has reported the crisis in the northeast for over a decade, and has a record of having exclusive, insider exposés from the terrorists that most of our girls may have suffered fatalities. Considering his record it will be out of place to not pay attention to information he reveals.

“The Government of Nigeria has in turn refuted the claims, however in a perfunctory manner. The federal government has not given sufficient, convincing reasons and evidence to believe otherwise. Our movement therefore tasks the federal government to provide a proof-of-life video as sufficient counter-evidence indicating the number of our girls alive, and most importantly bring all of them home and/or accounting for each single one.

“Of the 110 abducted schoolgirls of Government Science and Technical College, Dapchi on 19 February this year, 104 are back, Leah Sharibu is held back, but there has been no report of the 5 others. Our movement demands an update on the state and whereabouts of our 5 #DapchiGirls.

“The parents of the 6, as our movement has been made aware have not been briefed personally by the government except for what they here in the news. This is unacceptable. The poor treatment of Chibok parents for 4 years by successive administrations must never be normalised. We reject it, and call for a reversal. Families, close relations, friends and communities must never be left in a limbo, guessing and allowed to be in a state of despair. Deaths from the toll such distress causes as has been with 20 Chibok parents must be prevented.

“On Friday 13 April, just a day to the 4th year commemoration, operatives of the Nigeria police carted away (stole?) our chairs from our usual meeting grounds in Abuja, Unity Fountain, for no just cause. The park was also sealed. Our movement and others have been purportedly banned by the police from meeting.

“This stiffling of citizens’ voices and closing of civic spaces is blatant lawlessness and an abuse. Rights to freedoms of association, peaceful assembly, thought and conscience are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Nigeria police itself being a creation of the law cannot act above the law that created it.

“Further to this, in October 2014 Justice Sunday Aladetoyinbo of the High Court of the FCT, ruled that the police lacks the powers to prevent protest by our movement. The court specifically ruled that, ‘The right to freedom of assembly is the bone of democratic governance.’

“The Nigeria police cannot therefore reenact through the backdoor Decrees 2 and 4 of the dark military era in stifling democratic voices.

“The ‘banning’ of other civic groups meeting peacefully at Unity Fountain creates room for a repeat of errors of the past. Nigeria cannot afford groups going underground. Nigeria cannot afford yet another sectarian crisis.

“Next Steps for the #BringBackOurGirls movement ,Having given the federal government 72 hours to rethink its totalitarian inclinations and descent to militarism by stifling civic voices, we have decided to return to our daily sit-outs beginning from this day.

“Also, our movement shall be bringing forth a number of law suits: to compel the federal to produce evidence to the claim that our #ChibokGirls are all alive;

“To compel the federal government to answer the 14 question we had raised following the abduction of our #DapchiGirls; and to provide reasons for living behind Leah Sharibu, and not accounting for the other 5;

“The Nigeria police; the inspector-general of the police, FCT commissioner of police as officers and in their personal capacities for willfully breaking the law with impunity. There have to be consequences for bad behaviour.

“We thank especially the media for the consistency and steadfastness in pursuing this humanitarian cause. Your singular professionalism has helped keep our advocacy at the front burner where it belongs.

“On 30 April, in 11 days, will be 4 years of our advocacy. We shall be holding a public lecture on this troubling issue of clamping down on democratic voices and stifling civic spaces. Details shall be announced in due course.”