Chibok girls release - the story so far and lessons learnt
On the night of April 14, 2014, Nigeria (and the world) was hit with terrible news. Boko Haram Islamic militants went to the Government Secondary School in Chibok in Borno State and captured 276 girls who went to write their examinations there.
Before the attack in Chibok, many schools in the region had been forced to shut down because Boko Haram had targeted the towns for attack for spreading western education. Boko Haram hates western education because it believes it corrupts the values of Islam. Chibok, which used to be a busy market town had, however, not been attacked before so it was considered safe to use the school for the important final year examinations. Most of the students were Christians.
According to a BBC report, the gunmen arrived in the town at night and headed for the school where they raided the dormitories and loaded the 276 girls into vehicles. While some of the girls were able to run away by jumping off the vehicle, 219 of them were unable to do so and were, therefore, taken away by the militants to their hideout. Initial reports, however, gave conflicting figures on the number of girls who were actually captured.
While in captivity, the non-Muslims among the girls were forcibly made to convert to Islam and there were fears many of them were being sexually abused and forced into marriage by their captors. In fact, few months after the kidnapping of the girls in May 2014, the militant group released a video of about 130 girls gathered together reciting the Koran.
The Nigerian government came under intense pressure at home at the time for what doing nothing to help rescue the girls. The kidnapping sparked one of the biggest global social media campaigns, with tweeters using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. Personalities such as the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, and the young Palestinian activist for female education, Malala Yousafzai, joined anguished parents of the captured girls to call for their release.
The international community responded, with countries such as the US, UK , France, China and Israel providing military support and intelligence to help search for the girls. Later in July last year, a regional force, with 8,700 troops from Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, was launched to help in the rescue effort.
Then in a rare piece of good news in May 2016, one of the girls, 19-year-old Amina Ali Nkeki, was rescued from the Sambisa Forest, a remote area of north-east Nigeria near to the Cameroun border. She was spotted by a vigilante group in the area with a baby believed to be hers.
And thanks to negotiations between the Nigerian government and Islamist militants, just about three weeks ago, 21 of the girls were released.
Lessons learnt
In Ghana, it can be safely said that there are no militant groups going around attacking and kidnapping people, but the Deputy Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service, DSP Freeman Tettey, has stated that any child could be kidnapped irrespective of his or her age. “Every child is prone to being kidnapped,” he said.
It is for this reason that it is important for all children and young people to know what to do in order not to fall victim to the act.
Tips to ensure safety of children
- Security in schools should be reinforced
- School authorities should know the parents of their students as well as those who bring them to school and pick them up. This is to prevent impersonation or prevent strangers from picking up children from schools.
- Children should not be allowed to walk back home from school alone. It is always best to be in groups. Children who go home on their own should look for others in their neighbourhood and walk home together.
- At churches and the mosques, trusted adults must be put in charge of children so they keep watch over them.
- The playgrounds of children must be properly secured and adults should be around to provide care.
What every young child should not do:
• Never answer the door if even the person behind the door is alone.
• Do not invite anyone into the house without the permission of your parents or guardian.
• Do not go into people’s houses without informing anybody.
• Never get into strangers’ cars or accept lifts from strangers.
• Never play in deserted buildings or isolated areas.
To ensure your safety:
• Scream and scatter books and belongings if you are forced towards a building or car.
• Move away from a car that pulls up beside you if you do not know the driver to ensure that you are not forcibly dragged into the car.
What older children/teenagers should know
• Tell your parents where you are at all times or leave a written or recorded message at home.
• Avoid shortcuts through empty parks, fields, etc.
• Run home or go to the nearest public place and yell for help if you are being followed.
• Learn to recognise suspicious behaviour and remember a description of the person or vehicle to give to the police. Write the car number on the ground if nothing else is available to write with.
DSP Tettey also advised parents that in the event that their children are kidnapped, they should not be in a hurry to pay any ransom to kidnappers but should rather inform the police who have a special unit to handle such matters.