LAGOS, Nigeria
Nigeria’s Bring Back Our Girls movement on Friday flagged off a global week of action to commemorate 500 days since 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped from their dormitories in northeastern Borno state last year.
Of the more than 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram on April 14, 2014, only 57 have escaped, with the government still unable to find the rest, despite months of military operations in the northeastern region.
“We have have no confirmation that [the girls] are dead, so we keep hope alive that they are alive,” Sesugh Akume, spokesman for the movement, told Anadolu Agency on Friday. “Therefore, they can be rescued and should be rescued and brought back.”
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari faces mounting pressure to fulfill a campaign promise to rescue the girls.
The week begins with a special Muslim Friday prayer in the capital city Abuja while Nigerians and followers of the movement worldwide were urged to wear red ribbons and offer prayers for the quick rescue of the schoolgirls.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who is due in Nigeria on Sunday, is expected to hold talks with the movement during his visit.
