NAIROBI – The anti-poverty charity organisation, ActionAid, has condemned the abduction of over 200 girls from their school in Chibok in North-eastern Nigeria and called for their immediate release.
The ActionAid Nigeria Country Director, Dr Hussaini Abdu, told reporters on Friday in Nairobi.
“The government must do everything in its power to find and rescue the girls and in addition must immediately implement special protection mechanisms to safeguard the lives.
“Education must be made available for all children in Nigeria, particularly in the vulnerable North-east region,’’ Abdu said.
“Thousands of Nigerians have been holding daily demonstrations across the country to demand government action to free the girls.
“The North-east of Nigeria is already lagging behind the rest of the country in terms of education enrolment, retention and completion, particularly of girls.
According to Abdu, parents are already reluctant to send their daughters to school because of cultural and religious reasons.
“For example many believe that girls should be married at a young age and therefore they drop out of school,’’ he said.
He, therefore, urged the government to guarantee children’s right to education through adequate funding and provision of basic facilities such as toilets for girls and female teachers. (PANA/NAN)
