Mass kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls in 2014

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Relatives of the victims

A mass kidnapping of schoolgirls occurred on the night of April 14-15, 2014, when armed men abducted 276 young schoolgirls from the Government Secondary School in Chibok , Borno state in northeastern Nigeria . Abubakar Shekau , leader of the Nigerian Islamist terrorist organization Boko Haram , confessed to the crime. There were releases at different times, currently more than 100 schoolgirls are still missing or are being held by Boko Haram.

procedure

Chibok (Nigeria)
Chibok
Chibok
Location of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria
Rubble of the school building at the crime scene

On the night of April 14-15, 2014, during school exams, armed men drove up in trucks in front of the Government Secondary School, which also served as accommodation for their students. The state school was built in the 1940s by the pacifist Protestant Church of the Brethren ( Church of the Siblings ); a church to which many of the students also belong. Soldiers posted on site to protect the school were overwhelmed by the attackers, so that the men who, according to eyewitnesses to the 15- to 18-year-old schoolgirls, initially posed as members of the Nigerian armed forces , were able to force their victims onto the trucks. At this point, some students managed to escape. The perpetrators then drove their hostages to a destination previously unknown to the public.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan announced that his government would do everything possible to move forward. Boko Haram will be "overcome." On April 16, 2014, a spokesman for the Nigerian military announced that almost all of the abductees had been freed and that a terrorist had also been arrested. The headmistress of Government Secondary School and many of the abductees' parents denied these statements. Not all of the victims were freed. Meanwhile, according to media reports, security forces and volunteers combed the local jungle to find the hiding place of the attackers.

On May 5, 2014, a 57-minute video from Boko Haram appeared. The leader of the Islamist terrorist organization, Abubakar Shekau, announced that he was responsible for the kidnapping and that the women and girls were under his control. He announced, "[...] sell them in the market, God willing." Shekau regarded the kidnapped people as "slaves". It was reported that these were victims of forced marriages and sexual assault.

On May 12, 2014, another video of the kidnappers surfaced. It showed around 130 girls and young women wearing hijab and reciting verses from the Koran . Shekau stated in the recording that the kidnapping victims had converted to Islam and would not be released until detained Boko Haram fighters were released from custody.

On May 27, the army announced that it had tracked the whereabouts of the victims. However, an attempt at liberation is too risky.

On July 1, 2014, Nigerian authorities announced they had arrested several people suspected of being related to the crime.

On October 12, 2014, the media announced that four of the victims had escaped. They reported that they were held in a camp in the Nigerian neighboring state of Cameroon and that they had been raped on a daily basis . They walked back to Nigeria for three weeks after they escaped.

The Nigerian military chief Alex Badeh announced on October 17, 2014 that the Nigerian government had agreed a ceasefire with Boko Haram . This applies immediately. Government spokesman Mike Oremi announced on the same day that all of the abducted victims, which he put at 219, were well. There could be a release in the coming week. However, Boko Haram denied these statements. There is no ceasefire, and the kidnapping victims will not return because they have already been married.

Reactions

International reactions

  • African UnionAfrican Union African Union
    The Office of the Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security of the Chairman of the African Union Commission issued a statement condemning the kidnapping. It called on the international community to do everything possible for the well-being of the girls.
  • European UnionEuropean Union European Union
    The foreign ministers of the European Union jointly condemned the kidnappings. They called for the youth to be released immediately and unconditionally.
  • United StatesUnited States United States
    President Barack Obama and the United States Senate condemned the kidnappings. Obama called for an "international mobilization" against Boko Haram. The federal government of the United States sent on 9 May 2014 military and police forces to Nigeria. These are supposed to support the Nigerian authorities in their efforts to rescue the girls.

Hashtag #bringbackourgirls

Michelle Obama

In addition to voices from international politics, other parts of society also showed their sympathy. This was publicly announced under the hashtag #bringbackourgirls ( German  Brings our girls back ) in social networks and petition forums such as Change.org , Internet news services such as Twitter or during demonstrations. Celebrities who were photographed with this lettering included the American first wife Michelle Obama and the Sakharov Prize winner and child rights activist Malala Yousafzai .

Criticism of the authorities

After the kidnapping, there was criticism of the work of the Nigerian federal government and the authorities. Demonstrators and critics accused them of inaction. It was also criticized that President Jonathan met with the relatives of the victims only 100 days after the day of the kidnapping.

Releases

On October 13, 2016, after negotiations, 21 young women from Boko Haram were handed over to the Red Cross after being held hostage for two years.

On May 7, 2017, after lengthy negotiations, Boko Haram released another 82 of the originally kidnapped 276 girls. In exchange for this, detained Boko Haram fighters were released by the Nigerian authorities. The exact details of the agreement initially remained unknown. A spokesman for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari thanked "the security forces, the military , the Swiss government , the International Committee of the Red Cross and local and international non-governmental organizations " for their contributions in bringing about the agreement. The released girls were released near the military base near Banki on the Nigerian-Cameroon border. After their release, more than 100 girls remain missing or in the hands of Boko Haram.

Movies

  • Boko Haram: The trauma of the Chibok girls . Gemma Atwal, UK, 2018.

Web links

Commons : Mass Kidnapping of Nigerian Schoolgirls 2014  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Boko Haram promises release of the students . October 17, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  2. ↑ dpa -Newskanal =: Nigeria: Boko Haram is committed to kidnapping girls. In: Süddeutsche.de =. May 5, 2014, accessed August 26, 2020 .
  3. ^ Brethren rally to support kidnapped Nigerian girls. Mennonite World Review, accessed January 14, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Enough ! - Open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan. Nigerian Council of Churches calls on government to stop Boko Haram. (No longer available online.) Evangelical Mission in Solidarity e. V., formerly in the original ; accessed on January 14, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / ems-online.org
  5. ↑ Terror in Nigeria: Islamists raid school and kidnap girls. In: Spiegel Online. April 15, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  6. ↑ Criticism of President Goodluck Jonathan grows. In: Spiegel Online. April 15, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  7. ↑ Terror in Nigeria: Nigeria's military frees almost all kidnapped schoolgirls. In: Spiegel Online. April 16, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  8. ↑ Terror in Nigeria: The fate of kidnapped schoolgirls remains uncertain. In: Spiegel Online. April 17, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  9. ↑ Nigeria: Terrorist chief wants to sell kidnapped girls. In: Spiegel Online. May 5, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Boko Haram in Nigeria: Islamists kidnap even more girls. In: Spiegel Online. May 6, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  11. ↑ Boko Haram in Nigeria: Islamists kidnap even more girls. In: handelsblatt.de. May 6, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  12. ↑ Christoph Sydow: Panorama: The Dilemma of the Nigerian Army . GMX . May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved on May 27, 2014.
  13. ↑ Lanre Ola: Bomb kills 20 in Nigeria market, girls' abduction suspect held . Reuters . July 1, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  14. ↑ Tom Bonnici: Kidnapped Boko Haram girls make long walk to freedom . In: The Times . October 12, 2014. Accessible online here (for a fee for the entire article; accessed on October 14, 2014)
  15. ↑ Sarah A. Topol: If we run away and they kill us, that's how it is. Half a year ago, 276 Nigerian school girls were kidnapped by the terrorist group Boko Haram. Many were Christian women who had to convert to Islam by force. The few who escaped that night have never told the full story of their ordeal - until now. The magazine of December 20, 2014, pages 26–36
  16. ↑ Chris Johnston et al. Agencies: Boko Haram denies it has agreed ceasefire. In: theguardian.com . November 1, 2014, accessed November 4, 2014 .
  17. ^ Statement on the Kidnapping of the Nigerian School Girls from the Office of the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson's Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security. In: http://www.au.int/ . May 12, 2014, archived from the original on May 2, 2014 ; Retrieved May 17, 2014 .
  18. ↑ EU Foreign ministers condemn recent violence in Nigeria. In: aa.com.tr. May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014 .
  19. ↑ Obama takes action against "Boko Haram terrorists". In: welt.de. May 7, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  20. ↑ Nigeria: US special team begins search for kidnapped girls. In: Spiegel Online. May 9, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  21. ↑ Ify Elueze: To: World leaders and international organizations - Over 200 girls are missing in Nigeria - PLEASE FIND THEM! #bringbackourgirls. Retrieved June 19, 2014 .
  22. ^ KVS / Pedro Andrade: Anne-Hathaway and Adam-Schulman Protest Bring Back Our Girls. Archived from the original on May 16, 2014 ; Retrieved May 17, 2014 .
  23. ↑ Malala Fund. In: Twitter (screenshot). Retrieved May 17, 2014 .
  24. ↑ Kidnapped girls in Nigeria: Government rejects negotiations with Boko Haram. In: faz.de. May 13, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  25. ↑ Christoph Titz: Terrorist militia Boko Haram The many riddles about Nigeria's Chibok hostages. Spiegel online, October 18, 2016, accessed October 20, 2016 .
  26. ↑ Nigeria Chibok girls: Eighty-two freed by Boko Haram. BBC News, May 7, 2017, accessed May 7, 2017 .
  27. ↑ Boko Haram releases 82 kidnapped girls. tagesschau.de, May 7, 2017, accessed May 7, 2017 .
  28. ↑ Heike Hupertz: Women as prey. FAZ, November 20, 2018, accessed on November 21, 2018 .
  29. ↑ IMDb website: Stolen Daughters: Kidnapped by Boko Haram. Documentary 2018.

Coordinates: 10 ° 51 '57 "  N , 12 ° 50' 49"  E