Nigeria’s First lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, appears to have lost confidence in the way her husband is handling the issue of the over 300 teenagers abducted April 14 from Government Girls Secondary School Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram.

Indications to this effect emerged hours after President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday announced the composition of a 26-person Presidential Committee to help find the abducted girls. In a move that seems to suggest that she doesn’t believe that her husband would be able to bring the girls back home, Dame Patience Friday night announced that she was also setting up a committee made up of women to help find the girls.

The committee is to be chaired by Nana Kashima Shettima, wife of the Borno State Governor; with other members as wives of the Senator and Member of House of Representatives representing Chibok; wife of Chairman of the Local Government; wife of the Minister representing Borno State in the Federal Cabinet; wife of the Village Head of Chibok.

This is despite the fact that the 26-man Presidential Committee has many female members.

As if that was not enough, the First Lady during a meeting of women held at the First Lady’s Conference at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, also threatened to lead a women’s march to Borno if the girls are not rescued within three days.

“I don’t come out and go back. I will follow this matter all the way. Women should be more concerned than men in this matter,” Dame Jonathan said, adding:

“Some people and papers are reading meanings into the questions asked by some concerned persons. Some people don’t want these questions to be asked.

“I have been suffering this pain in silence all this while, but, we are no more hiding, because we want to have the facts.

“Now, that you have drawn us out, we must get answers. Those people concerned must answer us; and if they don’t want to answer us, then, they must bring our children back. It is at their door that our demonstrations will take place.

“If they don’t release our girls, then they should be ready to kidnap me. If after three days the children are not released, we shall march to Borno.

“We shall march to Borno Governor, then to Senate President and to the President of this country to tell them the truth.”

The number of stolen girls has yet to become clear. It was previously put at over 100 but the Nigerian police on Friday said 223 girls are still missing after 53 managed to escape. Other reports, however, have it that at least 329 girls were abducted and that 2at least 76 are still missing.

•Photo shows First Lady Patience Jonathan.

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