Two
years on: Fiona Bruce MP campaigns for Chibok schoolgirls
Fiona Bruce MP
hosted an important meeting in Parliament on the week of the second anniversary
of the kidnapping of 275 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in Nigeria. The meeting,
organised by the charity Open Doors, focussed on the ongoing problems in
Nigeria caused by Boko Haram and, increasingly, by another group, the Fulani
Herdsmen. Over 50 MPs, including Desmond Swayne, the Minister of State for
International Development, heard first hand evidence of the continuing struggle
for peace and freedom in Nigeria.
Two Nigerians
whose communities have suffered extreme attacks by Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen
spoke at the meeting in Parliament. Many community buildings have been
destroyed and burnt and many people killed with knives or guns, or burnt alive.
“Our constitution guarantees liberty, but we don’t have liberty” one speaker
said.
Fiona Bruce MP met
with one of the affected groups, the Chibok community in February, and
relatives of the girls who were abducted, when she visited Nigeria as part of
her role on the International Development Select Committee.
Fiona Bruce MP said: “Two
years on from the abduction of the Chibok girls, their families are without
schools for their children, experiencing medical problems and struggling to
support themselves. Farms are still in danger of attack by Boko Haram and
schools remain closed. Whilst in Nigeria I, and other MPs on the International
Development Select Committee, urged the Government of Nigeria to do more to
both protect affected communities and to help trace and bring home the abducted
Chibok girls.”