CAMPAIGNERS held a five-minute silence in Victoria Square to raise awareness of the plight of the 200 kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria.

A group from Bolton Sixth Form College held a vigil in solidarity with the girls, who were taken from their boarding school in April by the militant Islamic group Boko Haram.

Sharon Marshall, a senior tutor at the college, organised the mini demonstration in addition to asking all the students to wear red on Friday to show their support for the #bringbackourgirls campaign.

She said: “It’s a human rights issue — it’s not about flags or countries, this is about the right for girls to have an education.

“I felt it was important to tell students about the situation — once people heard they have become really passionate about it and they wanted to make a stand.”

Westhoughton A-Level student Bethany Southern designed the posters for the event.

She said: “I don’t think anyone could dream of something like this even happening.

“If it happened in this country there would be outrage — and it shouldn’t be happening anywhere.”