Chibok Girls: NLC, NUJ, CSOs Protest in Jos

As Plateau Speaker Urges Nigerians to Uphold Unity

Agabus Pwanagba, Jos

The Plateau State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigeria Union of Journalists and Civil Society Organisations on Tuesday led a protest in Jos, demanding the release of the over 200  school girls abducted in Chibok, Borno State.

Addressing the gathering at the complex of the Plateau State House of Assembly after trekking for about 4 kilometers, from the NUJ Secretariat to the House of Assembly, the State’s NLC Chairman, Comrade Jibrin Bancir, said: “We are not here to make speeches, but we are here to stand by our heroes (abducted girls) that are in captivity.

“There is no Nigerian President nor Professor nor Governor, that the entire world ever stood behind in the history of this country, the way they are standing behind these girls, therefore I count them as the greatest  heroes we’ve ever had in Nigeria.

“Comrades we will not leave as cowards, we must stand up and fight the insurgency in our land. It is not single responsibility but a collective right for us to do as a people of this country.

“Therefore what we are doing today is very simple in the history of this nation and the history of our lives, even if we die today, heaven will bear us witness that we’ve done our best for the little period we existed as human beings. And anywhere you stand, you stand with your shoulders high and God will bless you for that.

Bancir added that, the security challenges bedeviling the nation is not the responsibility of the President or security alone but that of the entire citizenry of the country.

Also speaking, Chairman of NUJ in the State, Katdapba Gobum said, “Picture the scenario that you do know an enemy has taken your child away and perhaps you may never see the child again.

“It is a horrible experience, and that is what parents of the abducted girls and indeed mothers of Nigerians are feeling today, and that is what you and I have been feeling since 14th/4/2014, when the young girls were abducted.

Responding, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Titus Alams, appreciated the Unions for choosing the House to pass their message of solidarity.

The speaker, who was represented by his deputy Hon. Joyce Ramnap, “This is a very difficult moment for us as Nigerians.

“We can see that even in the midst of all that is happening, one thing has stood out, that is the strength, unity and stability of Nigeria.

He called on Nigerians to sustain the aforementioned virtues even after the girls are returned.

“Can this be a moment for Nigeria to begin to grow beyond mediocrity, ethnic and religious difference. He asked.

The placards cards with inscriptions like- ‘’The Girl Child is not a Slave Free them Now, Enough is Enough Stop the Abduction, Save Our Girls Preserve Our Future, among several others.