A Nigerian protestor outside the hotel

LOS ANGELES, CA (ANS) -- Nigerian government representatives “refused” to meet with protestors who staged a protest in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday, March 20, 2010 against the recent bloodshed in Jos, Nigeria, which has seen more than 500 Christians murdered, a Nigerian-born Christian human rights activist has claimed.

This was claimed by Helen Bako, founder of Nigerian Women Against Violence (NWAV) and organizer of the three-hour protest that took place outside the Gateway Sheraton in Los Angeles, where representatives of the Nigerian government were staying.

The protestors carried edited pictures of those killed and placards stating, “No More Deaths", "Why Women? Why Children?”, “Machetes Kill in Cold Blood,” and “Nigerian Police, Do You Care?” were carried in a peaceful demonstration outside the hotel.

Ms. Bako, who originally comes from the Jos area, told ANS, “We then requested that the hotel management inform the Nigerian delegation that Nigerian citizens were waiting to meet with their government representatives to express their concern about the violence.
 

The protesters make their points at the hotel

“Hotel representatives gave us conflicting information about the presence of Nigerian representatives until hotel manager agreed to contact the Nigerian delegation with our request. He then came back and informed us that the answer was ‘no’ to a meeting, and that he could not give the name of the person who had given this decision on the grounds of hotel confidentiality.

“He then requested that our NWAV demonstrators leave the hotel property and so we picked up our signs, which had been set aside at the request of the hotel manager, and returned to their peaceful demonstration on the street outside the hotel.”

Ms. Bako added, “Reliable sources have informed us that Awalu Ibrahim, Consul General of Nigeria, was in the hotel at the time.”

For more information on Nigerian Women Against Violence, or to set up an interview with Helen Bako, you can contact her at (714) 673-7770 or by e-mail at: bakohe@aol.com 
 

Dan Wooding, 69, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 46 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC., and now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California and which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Wooding also a regular contributor to The Weekend Stand on the Crawford Broadcasting Network, and a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries. He is the author of some 43 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, also recently released “God’s Ambassadors in Japan” which is available at amazon.com.