How Long Shall We Continue to Weep? “The Menace Called Boko Haram”.

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BOKO HARAM

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, approximately 276 female and mainly mostly Christianstudents were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. The kidnappings were claimed by Boko Haram, an Islamic Jihadist and Takfiri terrorist organization based in northeast Nigeria.

The insurgent group Boko Haram is opposed to what they perceive as the “Westernization” of Nigeria, which they maintain is the root cause of criminal behavior in the country.Thousands of people have been killed in attacks perpetrated by the group, and the Nigerian federal government declared a state of emergency in May 2013 in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States in its fight against the insurgency. The resultant crackdown has led to the capture or killing of hundreds of Boko Haram members, with the remainder retreating to mountainous areas from which they have increasingly targeted soft targets while occasionally audaciously taking the battle to military barracks and installations.  However, the campaign has failed to stabilize the country.

Since 2010, Boko Haram has targeted schools, killing hundreds of students. A spokesperson for the group said such attacks would continue as long as the Nigerian government continued to interfere with traditional Islamic education. 10,000 children have been unable to attend school as a result of the activities by Boko Haram. Boko Haram has also been known to kidnap girls, who it believes should not be educated, and use them as cooks or sex slaves.

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Boko Haram’s attacks have intensified in 2014. In February, the group hacked to death more than 100 Christian men in the villages of Doron Baga and Izghe. Also in February, 59 students were killed in the Federal Government College attack in northeastern Nigeria. In March, the group attacked the Giwa military barracks, freeing captured militants.Boko Haram has been blamed for nearly 4,000 deaths in 2014.According to the US government, al Qaeda training, in recent years, has helped Boko Haram intensify its attacks.

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, a group of militants attacked the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Nigeria. They broke into the school, shooting the guards. A large numbers of students were taken away in trucks, possibly into the Sambisa Forest. Houses in Chibok were also burnt down in the incident. The school had been closed for four weeks prior to the attack due to the deteriorating security situation, but students from multiple schools had been called in to take final exams in physics.

There were 530 students from multiple villages registered for the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, although it was unclear how many were in attendance at the time of the attack. The children were aged 16 to 18 and were in their final year of school. Initial reports said 85 students were kidnapped in the attack. Over the 19–20 April weekend, the military released a statement that said more than 100 of 129 kidnapped girls had been freed. However, the statement was retracted, and on 21 April, parents said 234 girls were missing.A number of the students escaped the kidnappers in two groups.  According to the police approximately 276 children were taken in the attack of which 53 had escaped as of 2nd of May.

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Shockingly, the Presidency handled the issue with routine casualness There appeared to be no sense of hysteria, empathy for the girls and families or any urgent strategy to rescue the girls. It took public protests from various groups across the country to stir the seemingly sleeping presidency. The World Economic Forum brought in international media which quickly internationalized the issue and led to desperate efforts by key government officials to do damage control on the Presidency brand.

On the bright side, the United Kingdom, China and the United States are preparing to send experts to Nigeria to assist in the search for the students. The British experts will be drawn from various governmental departments including the Foreign Office, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence, and will concentrate on planning, co-ordination and advice to local authorities. The American team will consist of military and law enforcement officers, specializing in “intelligence, investigations, hostage negotiation, and information-sharing and victim assistance. The US is not considering sending armed forces to Nigeria while China will provide technological surveilancs assistance.

POSERS:

How long will Nigeria continue to suffer in the hands of these devils?

Will the presence and aid from foreign countries help put an end to this madness?

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