Boko Haram, a group of Islamists who believe it is forbidden for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society,had warned Nigerian Military commanders about their plan to abduct nearly 300 Nigerian girls. Despite these warnings, military officials failed to take immediate action and instead endangered the lives of many young women. They put 17 police officers and soldiers on duty in the Chibok area near a boarding school. At about 11:45 p.m, a group of approximately 200 men raided Chibok and the mere 17 men on duty, fled the town. With no military reinforcement, the 200 men were able to seize 270 girls from their school dormitories. Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, states in a video that he has been commanded by God to sell the girls. He plans on selling them into marriage or slavery

This crime has shocked not only all of Nigeria but many other countries as well. The search for these girls has turned international since many people feel that Nigeria is doing nothing to help the girls, and this offense cannot be ignored. Six U.S advisers arrived in Nigeria to help British officials search for the kidnapped girls. They believe the girls have been split up into small groups to avoid detection by British satellites and advanced tracking capabilities that are being used to help find the missing girls. China has also agreed to help by sending Nigeria any information gathered from their satellite network.

A social media campaign called #BringBackOurGirls has shed much needed attention on Nigeria and the women who live there. Because of the global response that this campaign has brought, Nigeria now realizes that women and girls are not invisible and cannot simply be ignored; they deserve to be protected by their government.