The #BringBackOurGirls group is organizing an Islamic prayer on Friday, August 21, to begin the Global Week of Action in commemoration of the day 500 that the Chibok girls were kidnapped, Leadership reports.
Sesugh Akume, the spokesperson for the group said in a press briefing that the prayer would be held at the Unity Fountain and called on Muslim faithfuls across Nigeria to remember the girls in their Jumat prayers and pray for the safe return of the girls back to their anxious parents.
Akume said the over 200 girls have been missing for more than 450 days since they were abducted from their school by the Boko Haram group and urged the whole world to continue to hope and pray for their safe return.
He added that the Christian prayers would be held on Sunday and urged Christians to also replicate the prayers for the return of the girls nationwide.
“We call on all to hold special prayers at their various places of worship this weekend. We encourage many more who are empathetic to the cause of our #ChibokGirls in Nigeria, and around the world to join in this Global Week of Action,” he said.
The spokesperson said that it was disturbing that the girls were still in the captivity of the Islamist group but hoped that the steps taken by President Muhammadu Buhari to bring the girls back would yield success.
“Although we have had diverse high-level advocacy activities to mark specific milestone dates since their abduction, we had never envisaged that our girls would still not be rescued nearly 500 days after their abduction. We are extremely saddened as the 500 day mark approaches.
“However, in the last few weeks we have had cause for a rekindled hope, our confidence boosted, and are more assured that sooner that later our girls shall return. This, as a result of some pragmatic steps our government has been taking recently. Our new president’s December 2015 deadline to have the terrorists decimated, what we see as the compliance by our military of the presidential order to annihilate the terrorists by November, and so on.
“Even though ever hopeful and expectant of their rescue even before Day 500 on 27 August 2015, we have organised a Global Week of Action to commemorate the tragedy of their abduction,” he said
Meanwhile, the #BBOG group said its confidence has been boosted by the steps being taken by President Muhammadu Buhari to secure the release of the missing school girls.
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