Police Deny #BBOG Protesters Access To Presidential Villa

The protest organized by #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) movement was stopped by police in Abuja, yesterday, December 25.

About 20 police officers blocked the Shehu Shagari Way, Abuja, with their vehicles at the junction to the Presidential Villa, as activists shared fliers to motorists to remind them of the fate of the 219 Chibok girls still in Boko Haram captivity. The barricade enraged some of the protesters.

The movement members had firstly walked to the National Assembly gate where they criticized the legislators for proceeding on Christmas holidays while the kidnapped girls are suffering in captivity.

Oby Ezekwesili, one of the co-coordinators of the group, said: “The lawmakers should be ashamed of  themselves for going on break while the Chibok girls are with wicked men in the bush.”

After that the campaigners walked towards the Presidential Villa junction, the policemen in four vehicles quickly drove to the junction and blocked it, to stop the people from heading that way.

This enraged the BBOG protestors, but the activists were not discontinued as they distributed out fliers to motorists.

The BBOG members asked questions about the billions of naira raised for the victims of insurgency in the country through the Victim Support Fund, mentioning that the money was not being used to enrich the sufferings of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) and other victims of the terrorism.

A member, Bukky Shonibare, stated that 98 per cent of the IDPs are not living in government but with private families.

She explained that the displaced persons were suffering, adding that most of them lacked food, shelter and clothing.

Today is the 256th day since more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in Borno state on April 14-15, 2014.

Despite of claims that the Federal Government and terrorists signed a ceasefire agreement in October, the Islamist group’s leader, Shekau, ruled out future talks with the Nigerian government, said the abducted schoolgirls would not be returned.