The parents of 276 girls abducted by Boko Haram from a government owned school in Chibok, a village in Borno State, northeast of Nigerian, has disclosed plans to hold a memorial service for the girls on April 14, exactly two years after the abduction, hoping to remind the world that their daughters were still missing.
Lawan Zanna, Secretary of Parents of the Abducted Girls from Chibok Association said the government had granted permission for the event – a prayer session, that would integrating both Muslim and Christian faiths, to hold in the school’s premises, to mark the second anniversary of the abduction.
The event holding exactly two years since militants stormed Government Secondary School in Chibok in the middle of the night and kidnapped 276 girls had then provoked an international outcry and a viral campaign #bringbackourgirls. About 57 of the girls managed to escape leaving 219 unaccounted for.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Lawan Zanna said, the government agreed to give the parents access to the school that was heavily guarded and all the parents of the missing girls are expected to attend.
The parents were hoping the event would again garner attention for the girls who have not been seen since the night of their abduction despite calls to find them from celebrities and politicians including U.S. first lady Michelle Obama.
“We have also invited all the government officials from Chibok .. and they also promised to allow any person from the media to join us,” Zanna, whose 18-year-old daughter is among the missing girls disclosed.
Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of people including adults, boys and girls in northeast of Nigeria over the past seven years, turning them into cooks, sex slaves, fighters, and even suicide bombers to attack their own villages, according to Amnesty International.
But the Chibok abduction remains the most high-profile.
On the first anniversary of the abduction the parents held a memorial event at the school but then a military checkpoint was set up outside the school and the area ruled out of bounds.
Visitors were then required to seek official permission from the government or the military to get access to the school and also to Chibok town.
The parents received permission to use the venue for this year’s event on Tuesday after three representatives of the parents’ association met with government officials.
