#BringBackOurGirls: New York’s Empire State Building to be lit up for Chibok girls

The Empire State Building is set to be lit in red and purple Tuesday night, April 14, as part of the effort to bring attention to the 219 missing Nigerian girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists a year ago on April 14, 2014, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-North Brooklyn-Manhattan) announced today.



Maloney was joined by Dr. Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome and R. Evon Idahosa, Esq. of #BringBackOurGirls, an advocacy organization formed in response to the kidnapping; Minister of Counter Terrorism of the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations Lawal Mohammed Hamidu; Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright (76AD); and Survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda Consolee Nishimwe, among several other leaders.

Dressed in red and purple, the official colors of #BringBackOurGirls and Stop Violence Against Women, respectively, the leaders pressed for a renewed international effort to find and return the girls to their families. Maloney also called for an investigation in response to recent reports that some of the girls may have been among those murdered in Borno State before Boko Haram soldiers were driven out by Nigerian forces.



On April 14, #BringBackOurGirls is hosting the Global School Girl March in honor of the Chibok Girls. The march will begin at 6 p.m. with an Interfaith Vigil at the United Nations Church Center (Chapel) located at 777 United Nations Plaza. From there participants will march to the Nigerian Embassy.

“Tomorrow night, when you look up at the Empire State Building lit in red and purple, I hope that you will remember the innocent girls who were stolen from their school by Boko Haram,” said Maloney. “They have spent the last year in horrific conditions, married off to their captors. Recent news reports have suggested that some of the girls may have been massacred, but we cannot give up hope. We must continue working to locate the Chibok girls and return them home to their families. We must also seek to bring these terrorists to justice so that other women cannot be hurt by their savage acts.”

“I cannot think of any milestone I wanted to see less than the one year anniversary of the mass Nigerian school girl kidnapping,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “It is a stain on our entire global community that…the Boko Haram terrorists who committed this unforgivable deed have yet to be brought to justice. It is every decent human being’s responsibility to do all they can such that we compel a reinvigorated international effort to reuniting these girls with their families.”