However, it was not until April 23, when, as a guest at a UNESCO event in Port Harcourt, in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, did her cry for the release of the schoolgirls grab national and international attention:
Amma, har sai 23 ga Afrilu, a lokacin da, a matsayin baƙuwa a wani taron UNESCO a Fatakwal, a yankin da yake NaijaDelta mai arziƙin man fetur, koke-kokenta na a saki waɗannan 'yan matan makarantar ya sami karɓuwa a ƙasa da ma duniya: