ANS reports on Los Angeles Nigerian women protesting against violence in Jos on March 7 and on March 17 – with an event scheduled on Saturday March 20
Helen Bako, who comes from the Jos area and now works as a social worker in Southern California, is the founder of Nigerian Women Against Violence.
She told ANS that the protest against “the recent bloodshed in Jos and the surrounding areas,” will take place at 11:00 AM on Saturday, March 20, 2010, at the the Gateway Sheraton, 6101 West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles, close to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) where representatives of the Nigerian government will be staying.
“Hundreds of women and children were brutally murdered by machetes and swords in Jos ten days ago,” Helen Bako told ANS. “Villagers continue to be attacked. Where was the Nigerian government? Where was the army? Where was the police? What are the facts?”
Smoke rises in Jos after latest round of violence
She added that Nigerian Women Against Violence calls on the international community and the United Nations to “hold the Government of Nigeria accountable to protect the lives of its citizens.”
She went on to say, “We believe the Nigerian Government has a responsibility to protect its children, its women, and its men, no matter what their religion. We call for an end of bloodshed in Nigeria no matter whose blood is shed.
“We call the Nigerian Government to invite an independent inquiry from the United Nations to establish what happened over the last several weeks in Jos. We want the world to know what happened. We don’t want it to happen again. We are Nigerian woman. We are against violence. We call on our government to protect us and to protect our children.”
Nigerian Women Against Violence is a grass-roots organization of women dedicated to uncovering violence in Nigeria and doing what we can to make it stop.
For more information, contact Helen Bako, Nigerian Women Against Violence. Telephone: (714) 673-7770, FAX: (714) 734-8305
E-mail: bakohe@aol.com
Helen Bako, Nigerian Women Against Violence (Photo: ANS)