Chibok Schoolgirls: Abuja #BringBackOurGirls protest continues

The #BringBackOurGirls sit in has taken place every day by 3 p.m. since April.

The protesters demanding the release of the over 250 female students kidnapped from Chibok have said they will continue their daily sit-in in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, on Thursday.

The group of #BringBackOurGirls protesters, tagged ‘Abuja Family’, in a statement, Thursday, said it will resume its daily protest at the Unity Fountain in Abuja.

The group had on Tuesday challenged, in court, a Monday statement by the Abuja Police Commissioner, Joseph Mbu, banning such protests in the Nigerian capital.

The police headquarters, however, on Tuesday denied Mr. Mbu, and said that it never banned peaceful protests but only issued an advisory notice on rallies in Abuja

The Abuja Family said its lawyers, Falana and Falana Chambers, had informed it that a date had not been set for a suit challenging the power of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Commissioner to infringe on its members’ rights to peaceful assembly.

It said it had written to the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, requesting police protection for the #BringBackOurGirls gatherings at the Unity Fountain.

The group said it had decided to continue the daily protests until the girls are brought back safe and alive.

The group also reassured members of the public that it would remain civil, orderly and peaceful in its demand.

The initial announced ban on protests came a few days after some group of counter-protesters attacked the #BringBackOurGirls group.

The attacking group stated that it was wrong to demand that Nigerian Government bring back the girls. It insisted that focus of the campaign should be for the terrorists to release the abducted girls. The rival group used its own hash tag, #ReleaseOurGirls.

The #BringBackOurGirls Abuja protest has been held daily for over a month.