Gordon Brown plea over kidnapped Nigerian girls

FORMER prime minister Gordon Brown will make a rare House of Commons appearance this evening to ask the Government to adopt crisis measures to bring back about 300 girls kidnapped in Nigeria.
The site of a bomb explosion  by Boko Haram in Borno state, Nigeria, on Monday. Picture: AFP/GettyThe site of a bomb explosion  by Boko Haram in Borno state, Nigeria, on Monday. Picture: AFP/Getty
The site of a bomb explosion by Boko Haram in Borno state, Nigeria, on Monday. Picture: AFP/Getty

The Labour heavyweight, who is helping a safe schools initiative in the African country, will lead a debate on the fate of the girls at the end of the day’s proceedings.

Mr Brown will call on the UK and governments around the world to step up efforts to bring back the schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram in April.

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There were reports last week that the group had kidnapped 60 more girls and women and 31 boys. The militants have been demanding the release of detained members in exchange for hostages.

The former chancellor will also highlight the plight of millions of Nigerian girls whose schools have closed for fear of attacks and speak about the work of the safe schools initiative that will initially help 5,000 schools in the crisis-hit north of the country.

Mr Brown said: “We must protect girls from terrorist groups determined to peddle their perverted and extreme religious dogma that girls should not be at school.

“We must do everything in our power to prevent schools which should be safe havens becoming theatres of war.”

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