Chibok: British foreign minister arrives Nigeria

Efforts by the Fed­eral Government to rescue the over 200 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, re­ceived another boost yester­day with the visit of the Unit­ed Kingdom (UK) Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds.

Simmonds’ visit to Nigeria, according to a statement made available to Daily Sun yes­terday in Abuja, by the Brit­ish High Commission, was to enable him have high-level meetings with the Nigerian Government on further UK assistance.

“Following the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in northern Nigeria on April 14, Foreign Office Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, will visit Abuja on 14 May (yes­terday)  for high-level meet­ings with Nigerian authorities to explore what further assis­tance and advice the UK can provide in support of Nige­ria’s efforts to secure the girls’ release and to deal with the threat posed by the extremist group Boko Haram.

“The UK team of experts, in Abuja, since May 9, is co-operating closely with the Government of Nigeria and other international partners to provide assistance to Nigeria in dealing with this abduction and addressing longer term challenges,” the statement said.

It quoted Simmonds as say­ing that the Chibok incident is an horrific and heartbreak­ing situation, stressing that the UK would want to do all it could to offer support to the Nigerian efforts to secure the release of the kidnapped girls.

“We condemn the actions of Boko Haram and all that they stand for. Yesterday’s (Monday) callous and shock­ing video of some of the miss­ing schoolgirls will only make it harder for their families to deal with this agonizing or­deal. This shows exactly why the UK and others have sent teams to help Nigerians in their efforts to find them and bring them home.

“Continuing murders and abductions of schoolchildren, particularly girls in Nigeria by Boko Haram, are a stark reminder of the threat faced by women and girls in conflict prone areas. Young children are being denied universal freedoms such as an educa­tion. They are being denied opportunity and the ability to live their lives as they choose. Girls are being threatened with sexual violence in forced marriages.”