“What happened in Nigeria was not an isolated incident. It’s a story we see every day as girls around the world risk their lives to pursue their ambitions.”
The U.S. First Lady, Michelle Obama, on Saturday said she and her husband were “outraged and heartbroken” over the kidnap of the over 250 girls in Chibok, Borno State.
Mrs. Obama spoke when she took the place of her husband, President Barack Obama, in the weekly presidential address.
“What happened in Nigeria was not an isolated incident. It’s a story we see every day as girls around the world risk their lives to pursue their ambitions,” Mrs. Obama was quoted as saying by the BBC.
The U.S. first lady compared the kidnap of the girls and the attacks on schools in Northern Nigeria to the attack on Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani girl who shot by the Taliban for campaigning for girl child education in Pakistan.
Mrs. Obama’s address, Saturday, comes days after she joined the campaign to free the girls when she tweeted a picture of herself carrying the #BringBackOurGirls banner at the White House.
Mrs. Obama’s husband has already declared to help Nigeria rescue the girls, and already American security and intelligence officials have arrived Nigeria to join the Nigerian military in the rescue efforts.
The girls were kidnapped on April 14 from their dormitory at the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno, by the Boko Haram.
The Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of people since its insurgency began in 2009, has threatened to sell or marry off the girls.
President Goodluck Jonathan said on Friday that he believed the girls were still in Nigeria and had not been taken to neighbouring African countries.
Also on Friday, Amnesty International, AI, released a report where it said the military had at least a four-hour prior notice of the attack on Chibok before it happened.
AI said it spoke to civilian and military sources in Nigeria who confirmed the warning. The Nigerian military has however denied it was forewarned of the Chibok attack.
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