There was fracas at the Unity
Fountain in Abuja Wednesday where a coalition of women groups under the
umbrella of #Bringbackourgirls” have been protesting against the abduction of
over 200 school girls from Chibok in Borno State since last Month.
Vanguard learnt that the fracas
occurred as a result of rivalry between the #Bringbackourgirls group and a new
group named “#ReleaseOurGirlsNow”. Members of #Bringbackourgirls have
been involved in the protest which has already gained global attention since it
commenced several weeks ago.
Unconfirmed sources told Vanguard
that the clash was serious necessitating the invitation of the the police.
It was learnt that the Release Our
Girls group who are believed to be mostly Abuja-based market women destroyed
some of the chairs and mats of #BringBackOurGirls group. Vanguard learnt that
the intervention of the Nigeria Police brought sanity to the venue of the
protest.
When Vanguard arrived at the
fountain yesterday evening detachments of armed policemen were seen watching
over the women.
It was also observed that few
members of #Bringbackourgirls group at the Fountain wore white tee-shirts which
was a departure from the red attire they usually wore in the past.
Princess Maryann Onuoha, Coordinator
of Grand Alliance Against Terrorism, which is affiliated to #Bringbackourgirls
spoke to Vanguard and described what happened as a minor disagreement between
some women adding that incidents like this were bound to happen whenever there
was a large crowd of women at a single place.
Another woman who identified herself
as Princess Kate Egu, coordinator of Royal Ladies Organization-one of the
groups affiliated to Release Our Girls group- said the prevailing situation
required all women uniting to fight together and find a way of bringing back
the abducted girls alive.
According to her: “The situation
should not be politicized or used to attack our government and armed forces.”
She continued: “They have no reason
to hold our children as hostages whosoever they are. They should release our
daughters; we are in pains. You can imagine what the parents of those girls are
passing through.”
However, when contacted the Federal
Capital Territory Police Command Public Relations Officer, Altine Daniel denied
that there was any clash among the women.
However, she explained that “We had
to provide extra security cover at the Unity Fountain yesterday because there
were two different groups which protested against the abduction of the Chibok
girls at the same spot.”
Already the #Bringbackourgirls group
yesterday confirmed there was a clash between its members and those of the
Release Our Girls group.
This was contained in a press
statement issued by the group yesterday evening.
According to former Minister of
Education and the leader of #Bring Back Our Girls group, Dr. Oby Ezekwizili,
“It is rather unfortunate that this is happening now. But the group would not
be intimidated by anybody. Our normal campaign of #Bring Back Our Girls, alive
and well will continue. Until we see our girls we would not stop the campaign”.
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