On April 14, 2014, over 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped from their school in Chibok, in the north-east of Nigeria.
The girls had gone to take exams in the government secondary boarding school. Many schools in the region had shut down.
The gunmen arrived in the town late at night in a blaze of gunfire and headed for the school where they raided the dormitories and loaded 276 girls on to lorries.
Members of the Boko Haram militant group subsequently claimed responsibility for the kidnapping with the incident propelling them onto the global stage, and triggered international outrage – and international efforts to find the girls.
Some managed to escape within hours of their kidnapping, mostly by jumping off the lorries and running off into the bushes. 21 have been freed and some are back in school, but 195 remain missing (and many reportedly are now Boko Haram converts).
Rights activists have been observing a week of activities to remember the girls. Their commemorations began on Friday 7th April.
The rights groups have continually expressed their disappointment at the government of Nigeria in the way they have handled the historical tragedy with many saying the government is not doing enough to bring the girls back home.
“None of the commitments made by the government concerning the rescue of our Chibok girls has been followed through. These days, we have absorbed coldness, silence and irritations of key officials whenever the government is reminded of its constitutional duty to rescue the Chibok schoolgirls and all other abducted citizens,” said Aisha Yesufu, one of the leaders of the BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group.
