Four American lawmakers visiting Nigeria, have called for a special relief funds for the victims of Boko Haram insurgency.
The lawmakers who came to Nigeria as part of global efforts to facilitate support for the rescue of the over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped on 14th April in Chibok, Borno State made the call on Sunday.
Co-chair of the American delegation, Sheila Jackson Lee said the special fund should be aimed at providing help for the girls who are still missing, the girls who escaped, their families and the father who spoke to the authorities about his missing daughter. Lee was convinced that they all need relief funds.
“Today we call upon the government of Nigeria to establish a national victim fund for all the victims who are suffering at the hands of Boko Haram,” Lee said. “It is time for economic empowerment and jobs, to … give the young people of the north and all around Nigeria the opportunity for jobs and education.”
Steve Stockman, leader of the delegation disclosed that the United States’ Congress believes that the funds will go a long way to cushion the pains of victims and their families.
“The best thing that could happen is if we have a fund set up for those that lost their lives and for the families that remain here on this earth,” Stockman said.
Frederica Wilson, another member of the delegation, explained the mission of the lawmakers in Nigeria, saying the quartet want to put pressure on the international community, including the US and Nigerian governments, to help bring back the girls.
“Everyone around us has a responsibility to find these young girls. And we cannot afford to give up until we find all [the] young women who were kidnapped from a school which is supposed to be a safe place,” Wilson said.
Of all the girls kidnapped on 14th April, 57 have escaped while authorities say 219 remain captive to Boko Haram. Two of the girls who escaped from their captors attended the news conference but were not allowed to speak.
The US, Britain, France and Israel are already helping Nigeria in the search for the girls. The US is the biggest foreign participant in the effort against Boko Haram, with 80 military personnel specialising in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance deployed in neighbouring country of Chad. The country has also sent surveillance drones, spy planes and about 30 civilian and military specialists to support Nigeria’s security forces.
