Chibok Kidnapping of Schoolgirls: Nigeria’s President calls off town visit

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has cancelled a visit to Chibok, the town from where more than 200 schoolgirls have been abducted by militant Islamist group Boko Haram. Jonathan has been criticised for not visiting the town – more than a month after the girls were abducted.
The president will now go direct to Paris to participate in a meeting convened by French President Francois Hollande to discuss the issue of Boko Haram militants.
Around 276 female students were abducted from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria on the night of April 14-15, 2014. Boko Haram, an Islamic Jihadist, and Takfiri terrorist organization based in northeast Nigeria have claimed these kidnappings. Boko Haram,  had earlier said the girls should not have been at school and should be married instead.
Boko Haram:
It is a militant Islamist group Boko Haram active mainly in Nigeria and is responsible for wreaking mayhem in the country through a series of bombings, assassinations and now kidnappings.  It intends to bring down the government and create an Islamic state.
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it “haram”, or forbidden, for Muslims to participate in any political or social activity associated with Western society. This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and rousers or receiving a secular education.
The group was set up in 2002 as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad”. It was dubbed Boko Haram, a phrase in the local Hausa language meaning, “Western education is forbidden”.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2014

Category: Places in News Current Affairs