About thirteen delegates at the ongoing National Conference, representing various interests, on Wednesday staged a mild protest at the conference venue and demanded the release of the over 200 students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State who have been abducted by the Boko Haram Islamic sect for some weeks now.
Among the protesters are delegates comprising members of the Confab Committee on Labour, Civil Societies, Sports and others.
They were dressed in white, black and green shirts with the inscription: “Rescue our girls now.”
The leader of the group and founder of Women Arise, a civil rights organization, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, said Boko Haram must produce the girls alive.
She said, “We want to prove a point and those who have abducted them, Boko Haram members have murdered sleep and they will not have any sleep. On behalf of all mothers and peace loving Nigerians, the death of victims of the Jos Bomb blast will never be in vain. But most important is the fact that our girls must be rescued now.
“We are worried that since April 14, when our girls were abducted, we have not heard anything from them. We are therefore embarking on this mild protest to demonstrate the fact that we feel their pains. The Boko Haram terrorists have murdered sleep and they shall no longer sleep. I can tell you that as parents, we have stopped sleeping a long time ago and that is why we are gathered here to reiterate the fact that the terrorists have done havoc to our young girls.
“We cannot accept our girls to be swapped for the release of Boko Haram criminals who are being held by security agencies across the nation’s prisons. We want them back alive.”
Also speaking, chairman of the Committee, Mrs. Bola Ogunrinade said: “As parents, we are concerned and we don’t know where the girls are. Nothing must happen to them.”
Other delegates who participated in the protest include a Vice President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Issa Aremu; leader of Market Women in the Confab, Mrs. Felicia Sanni and former PDP women leader, Mrs. Josephine Anenih.
