#Dapchi: Group wants African Union Commission to investigate abduction

A legal and advocacy rights group, Women and Legal Aid, WELA, on
Tuesday called on the African Committee on Experts on the Rights
and Welfare of the Child, ACERWC, to undertake a fact-finding
mission to Nigeria to establish the circumstances surrounding the
abduction of over 100 schoolgirls in Dapchi Village in Yobe
State.

In a letter made available to TheNigerialawyer on Tuesday, the
group urged the committee, which is a unit of the African Union
Commission, to request the Nigerian government to highlight steps
taken to ensure the release of the school girls.

The letter, dated March 12, was addressed to Benyam Mezmur, the
chairperson of African Committee on Experts on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child, ACERWC, African Union Commission.

Over 100 school girls were abducted in Dapchi village in
February after the school was invaded by suspected Boko Haram
members. The government of Yobe initially announced that the girls
had been rescued but it turned out to be a hoax.

WELA on Tuesday said it wants the AU commission to put pressure
on the Nigerian government to secure the release of the girls.

The organisation also described the abduction as a sign of
failure of the Nigerian state in protecting Nigerian school
children, reminiscent of the 2014 abduction of girls in Chibok
community.

“We believe attacks on schools place children at risks of injury
or death and affect children’s ability to obtain an education,” the
group said.

A legal and advocacy rights group, Women and Legal Aid, WELA, on
Tuesday called on the African Committee on Experts on the Rights
and Welfare of the Child, ACERWC, to undertake a fact-finding
mission to Nigeria to establish the circumstances surrounding the
abduction of over 100 schoolgirls in Dapchi Village in Yobe
State.

In a letter made available to TheNigerialawyer on Tuesday, the
group urged the committee, which is a unit of the African Union
Commission, to request the Nigerian government to highlight steps
taken to ensure the release of the school girls.

The letter, dated March 12, was addressed to Benyam Mezmur, the
chairperson of African Committee on Experts on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child, ACERWC, African Union Commission.

Over 100 school girls were abducted in Dapchi village in
February after the school was invaded by suspected Boko Haram
members. The government of Yobe initially announced that the girls
had been rescued but it turned out to be a hoax.

WELA on Tuesday said it wants the AU commission to put pressure
on the Nigerian government to secure the release of the girls.

The organisation also described the abduction as a sign of
failure of the Nigerian state in protecting Nigerian school
children, reminiscent of the 2014 abduction of girls in Chibok
community.

“We believe attacks on schools place children at risks of injury
or death and affect children’s ability to obtain an education,” the
group said.