Parents of the 200 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped last April by Boko Haram members in Borno State
have taken their case to the United Nations ( UN) after losing hope that the federal government would
rescue them .
A group lobbying for government action on behalf of the parents met with UN Women , the head of the
UN representation in Nigeria and officials of the UN Office for West Africa last month .
The group has also appealed to UNICEF , campaign spokeswoman Bukola Shonibare said .
UN officials were not immediately available for comment .
“ If the government cannot take action , we are asking for the UN to come in and help and if they reject,
we just don’ t know what to do , ” Reverend Enoch Mark , leader of the parents , told Reuters. Two of his
daughters were kidnapped .
It is not clear what any UN agency could do without Nigerian government approval .
More than eight months since the abduction of the girls from Chibok , in Borno State , parents say they
are still in the dark about what the government is doing .
A presidential spokesman said efforts to free them continue, but that details of the missions are too
sensitive to publish .
“ The Chibok community is pained, we cannot take this anymore , ” Dauda Iliya, spokesman for the
Chibok community in Abuja, said at a New Year ’ s Day rally of parents , adding that they had written to
the United Nations to “ protest this neglect and nonchalance by the government . ”
President Goodluck Jonathan says the government is trying to free the girls, but a botched rescue
mission would endanger them .
Dozens, possibly hundreds, have been kidnapped since the Chibok attack .
Two weeks ago, gunmen abducted 172 women and children from Gumsuri , 24 kilometres from Chibok .
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