A protester calling for the release of abducted Nigerian girls.
Hundreds of Nigerians have rallied in the capital Abuja to mark the first Christmas since more than 200 girls were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists.
Angry people gathered in Abuja on Saturday to protest against the unknown fate of the abducted girls. The protesters said Nigerian officials haven’t tried hard enough to free the girls from the terrorists.
In April this year, Boko Haram jihadist militants kidnapped 276 Nigerian schoolgirls in the northeastern town of Chibok. Fifty-seven of them escaped, but 219 still remain captive.
The demonstrators, dressed in red T-shirts, carried banners in support of the abducted schoolgirls. Police prevented the marchers from heading towards the presidential villa.
They also criticized the ineffectiveness of President Goodluck Jonathan’s initiative for establishing the Victim Support Fund, which according to protesters, has failed to offer any relief to victims of terror in Nigeria. A movement called Bring Back Our Girls has organized similar protests in the Nigerian capital over the past eight months.
Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, has threatened to sell the captive girls into slavery. The group has vowed that the girls would not be freed until militant prisoners were released from prison.
Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” says its ultimate goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.
