Boko Haram: Senate pleads for release of Chibok girls

Against the backdrop of the Children’s Day anniversary, Senate yesterday pleaded with Boko Haram to release the abducted Chibok girls.
Senate President David Mark yesterday called for prayers for the survival of the Nigerian child whom he described as ironically becoming an endangered species in the hands of abductors and kidnappers.
He said the situation called for sober reflection on the way forward as he could not rationalise why the children, who represented the future, suddenly became the target of evil men in the country.
In a goodwill message to mark the Children’s Day, Mark lamented the continued abduction of over 200 girls from Government Girls’ Secondary School in Borno State.
“In spite of the outcry across the world on the abduction of the Chibok girls, their captors remain adamant. This is inhuman, barbaric, insane and condemnable by all right-thinking members of the human race,” he said.
Mark noted: “As parents or guardians, we owe the children care and protection. How do we explain to generations yet unborn that our girls abducted from their school by unknown persons are still being held more than one month after? This is a challenge to all of us. We cannot fail these children. All of us must put on our thinking caps and strategise on the way out.”
He urged Nigerians to put aside religious, political or ethnic considerations and adorn the jersey of one united Nigeria in the battle against insurgents, adding: “With the cooperation and collective will of all of us, we shall overcome.”
Also speaking just before commencement of legislative business on Tuesday, Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, wished Nigerian children a happy anniversary and seized the occasion to plead with Boko Haram to release the girls.