US seeks national fund for victim fund for abducted girls

The United States of America has called on the Nigeria Government to establish a national victim fund for the rehabilitation of the abducted Chibok girls after their rescue and return.

A US Congressional Delegation made up of Representatives Steve Stockman, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Frederica Wilson and Lois Frankel, said this yesterday in Abuja during a press conference at the Unity Fountain.

The fountain in the heart of Abuja’s city center has become iconic in the struggle by campaigners calling on government to rescue the girls from their abductors. It is the venue of the daily sit-in by the #BringBackOurGirls protesters.

The fund is necessary for the rehabilitation of all those who have suffered from the Boko Haram violence, Sheila Jackson-Lee said.

Speaking on behalf of the humanitarian mission to Nigeria, co-chair, Sheila Jackson-Lee said: “We have come from the United States to focus on bringing the girls back and to focus on stopping the violence of Boko Haram.”

The group narrated the story of a woman who watched her husband, a police officer, decapitated at the hands of Boko Haram.

“So we come today with solution, we also come today in asking the north east and Nigeria to continue to accept international help and it is time to find a way to contain the Boko Haram and save the lives of so many,” said Sheila.

“We thank President Obama and the United States congress for its very keen interest on the question of bringing the girls back, and stopping the horrific violence of Boko Haram.”

She added that the mission speaks in unity about the crisis inflicted on the girls, women and their families, who have been victimized by the terrorist acts of Boko Haram, admonishing the north east and Borno State to stop the Boko Haram violence.

“We also believe that it is important to focus on our children and to acknowledge that more than 10 million children in Nigeria are not in school, many of them are in the north east.”

Chairman of the humanitarian mission, Stockman, in his contribution said the group hopes to join Nigeria in a comprehensive partnership to save the country from the current crisis.