Again! BBOG demands rescue of policewomen abducted by Boko Haram
The #BringBackOurGirls coalition has called for the rescue of some policewomen and civilians reportedly abducted by Boko Haram insurgents on June 20, 2017, while traveling on the Maiduguri-Damboa highway in Borno State.
It said it was worried by the military and the Federal Government silence over the abduction, noting that eyewitness accounts said that 16 women were abducted by the terrorists from among a burial convoy.
The police had earlier denied that its personnel were among those reportedly abducted by the insurgents.
But the BBOG in a statement on Monday by co-coordinators, Oby Ezekwesili and Aisha Yesufu, stated that the incident was reminiscent of the abduction of theChibok schoolgirls which was denied by the military and the government.
It said, “Our movement is worried that 13 days after this reported tragedy, the federal government, the military have maintained an eerie silence on the matter.
“The ominous silence is made more troubling when four days after the attack and alleged abduction of the women from the burial convoy, the Boko Haram terrorists released a video in which they took responsibility and paraded the women they claimed were the policewomen, victims of that attack.”
The coalition said it was worried that while the police were denying the abduction of the policewomen, their relatives had been seeking BBOG support to mount pressure on the FG to initiate a rescue of their abducted family members.
It demanded the reaction of the Presidency to the alleged abduction, insisting that the government “cannot carry on repeating all the wrong approaches in dealing with victims of terrorism that it should have learned to handle differently over these many years.”
“We, therefore, demand immediate reaction of the Presidency and the federal government to the cries of families of the alleged abducted policewomen and other citizens in the burial convoy that was attacked,” it said.
The group noted that the government must immediately provide answers to the whereabouts of the missing policewomen and their civilian counterparts.
The BBOG also reminded the government of the remaining 113 Chibok girls in Boko Haram captivity, stating that it should hasten to secure their release.
The police could not be reached for comment on the alleged abduction of the policewomen. The Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood could not be reached on the telephone and he has yet to respond to an SMS as of the time of filing this report. Punch
