Michelle Obama slams Boko Haram for kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls
America's First Lady uses her husband's weekly radio and internet address to highlight the plight of 276 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamic extremists in northeast Nigeria
US first lady Michelle Obama yesterday denounced as an "unconscionable act" the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls by Islamic militants as the international community helped with the search effort.
For the first time standing in for US President Barack Obama on his weekly Saturday morning address, she said they were both "outraged and heartbroken" over the mass abduction from a school dormitory in a remote corner of northern Nigeria last month. Their sentiments were shared by "millions of people across the globe", she said.
This violence "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", she said.
"This unconscionable act was committed by a terrorist group determined to keep these girls from getting an education - grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls," Michelle Obama said.
On April 14, 276 schoolgirls were abducted in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok, with eight more seized from Warabe on May 5. Three weeks later 223 girls are still missing.
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram claimed responsibility, and threatened to sell the girls into slavery.