The military has tracked down and
surrounded the location, where over 200 schoolgirls who were abducted
two weeks ago from Government Secondary School, Chibok, are being held
captive, while exploring various options, including intense negotiations
by locals and the Borno State Government to secure their release.
Disclosing this yesterday, a security source said the military has
already identified the various camps in which the girls are being held,
but is being cautious about executing a full onslaught against their
captors, in order to avoid collateral damage. He said:
“The operation is being strategically carried in a very covert manner
because the terrorists will not hesitate to use any of the girls as
human shields or even kill them in the event of an attack.
“Another thing you must consider is that apart from being a large
expanse of land area, the Sambisa forest also has many clusters of
villages and settlements that can suffer from the collateral damage,
should an all-out bombardment be carried out.
“Assuming the military attacks them and some of the girls get killed in
the process, can you imagine the outrage that will come from the
members of the public? So they (military) are being careful.
“All this while, the military has known and has tracked the locations
where they are and has even concluded plans to invade the place, but
later shelved it to avoid collateral damage.”
Owing to the change of tactics, it was revealed that the military is
relying more on intelligence gathering and negotiations by some local
indigenes and the state government with the terrorists to secure the
release of the girls.
It has also emerged that in the course of searching for the girls, the military has arrested some of the arrowheads behind their abduction and are currently undergoing interrogation.
It has also emerged that in the course of searching for the girls, the military has arrested some of the arrowheads behind their abduction and are currently undergoing interrogation.
The source further explained that the security forces do not want to
get involved in negotiations since they consider the kidnapping a
“highly coordinated local issue” with the full backing of the state
government.
“The state government and the Commissioner (of Education) are seriously negotiating (for the girls’ freedom) because they know these boys. And what you see playing out is the politics of the state of emergency,”
“The state government and the Commissioner (of Education) are seriously negotiating (for the girls’ freedom) because they know these boys. And what you see playing out is the politics of the state of emergency,”
Also, sources within defence circles further revealed that after being embarrassed by the conflicting accounts on the number of girls that were abducted or released, the military is taking a more cautious approach in dealing with the situation.
Most of the military top brass, the sources also revealed, are still
aggrieved with the way they were misled into giving a false statement
about the missing students, which forced the Defence Headquarters (DHQ)
in Abuja to retract its statement.
One top security officer expressed doubts that 234 schoolgirls were
kidnapped, stating that the number of the abducted girls was grossly
exaggerated and may not be more than 70 in total.
According to him, since the total number of the students in the school
from junior to senior secondary level is about 1,200, this would explain
the high number of parents claiming that their children are missing.
“This is aside from the calculated effort aimed at getting some kind of financial compensation from the state government, which was alleged to have doled out the sum of N1 million to each family of the missing girls.
“Now if you divide that figure by six, you would have a maximum of 200 students in a class. And when you consider the fact that the SS3 (Senior Secondary 3) students are normally fewer in number than other classes, it stands to reason that less than 200 schoolgirls were abducted,” the source explained.
“This is aside from the calculated effort aimed at getting some kind of financial compensation from the state government, which was alleged to have doled out the sum of N1 million to each family of the missing girls.
“Now if you divide that figure by six, you would have a maximum of 200 students in a class. And when you consider the fact that the SS3 (Senior Secondary 3) students are normally fewer in number than other classes, it stands to reason that less than 200 schoolgirls were abducted,” the source explained.
Expressing frustration with the entire incident, the security official
added:
“Another thing you should note is that schools were closed within this period and this is both a day and boarding school, and not all the students were living in the school.
“Another thing you should note is that schools were closed within this period and this is both a day and boarding school, and not all the students were living in the school.
“So who gave them the directive to come to school and what were they
doing in school at that time? Who are the students that make up these
figures, because most of them were going to school from home since they
are all members of Chibok community.
“The fact is that the figure is less than 100, or even less than 70
from our estimates, which was admitted by the school security men there
and even the principal of the school before she started changing figures
and statement. Today, she will say the figure is 129, then later she
said 234 and again changed the figure.”
He alleged that the whole situation playing out with the abduction saga
was beginning to appear like a hatchet job meant to ridicule the
military in order to gain the upper hand in their quest to lift the
state of emergency imposed on Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.
“Owing to what has happened, the military has decided to operate in the
background since our men cannot trust the people (community members)
who are also being brainwashed to see us as enemies.
“The way this whole situation has played out has made the military wary of those it is working with, that is, the locals and their hunters, as you can see how the principal has been made the star of this whole misfortune.
“She has been granting interviews to the media in a euphoric manner, ridiculing the military and saying the hunters are the ones doing the job,” the source added.
“The way this whole situation has played out has made the military wary of those it is working with, that is, the locals and their hunters, as you can see how the principal has been made the star of this whole misfortune.
“She has been granting interviews to the media in a euphoric manner, ridiculing the military and saying the hunters are the ones doing the job,” the source added.
Meanwhile, findings have further revealed that the two men
arrested Friday night, which resulted in the fierce fighting that left
40 terrorists and four soldiers dead, were the leaders of the group that
kidnapped the girls.
Intelligence sources said the kidnappers were tracked down when they came to buy food for the girls, leading to the arrest of their gang leaders who are currently undergoing interrogation and providing vital information.
In addition, the intelligence efforts of the Nigerian military to find the girls is being aided by the deployment of sophisticated and advanced satellite imagery and surveillance technologies provided by the United States, United Kingdom and a few other countries to track and map out the terrorists’ movements.
Intelligence sources said the kidnappers were tracked down when they came to buy food for the girls, leading to the arrest of their gang leaders who are currently undergoing interrogation and providing vital information.
In addition, the intelligence efforts of the Nigerian military to find the girls is being aided by the deployment of sophisticated and advanced satellite imagery and surveillance technologies provided by the United States, United Kingdom and a few other countries to track and map out the terrorists’ movements.
“They are being watched, monitored and tracked and the whole escape routes are guarded,” the source said.
However, as the military continues in its efforts to secure the release of the schoolgirls, women all over the country will on Wednesday converge on the nation's capital, Abuja, in red attire to stage a million women protest march aimed at pressurising the federal government into taking the necessary action to free the girls.
However, as the military continues in its efforts to secure the release of the schoolgirls, women all over the country will on Wednesday converge on the nation's capital, Abuja, in red attire to stage a million women protest march aimed at pressurising the federal government into taking the necessary action to free the girls.
The one-million-women march was disclosed by Prof. Hauwa Abdu Biu
yesterday after an emergency meeting convened by the Borno State First
Lady, Hajia Nana Kashi Shettima, on the way forward for the release of
the schoolgirls.
Biu, who only last week led a coalition of Borno women to a press
conference, where they offered to go into the Sambisa forest, the
stronghold of the Boko Haram insurgents, where the girls are believed to
be held hostage, said yesterday that there was a change in plan.
Biu informed the meeting that the one-million women march, which is
tagged “Free Our Girls” would involve women from all over the country
and called for the mobilisation of Borno women to Abuja for the rally.
“The last time we were in black but this time around, the colour for the Abuja rally is red, so we should all be prepared and mobilise ourselves for the rally,” she said.
“The last time we were in black but this time around, the colour for the Abuja rally is red, so we should all be prepared and mobilise ourselves for the rally,” she said.
Earlier, the Borno State first lady, while addressing the meeting,
called on the wives of service chiefs both in the state and the federal
levels to assist in mounting pressure on their husbands to intensify
efforts towards rescuing the abducted schoolgirls.
“I want to seek this opportunity to appeal to the wives of security
chiefs at the national and state levels to run and mount pressure on
your spouses to intensify efforts to rescue our dear children.
“However, I feel it is necessary to call on all women in Borno to come up with their resolutions and harmonise them. Let us all put our differences aside, irrespective of our faith and ethnicity; let us all join hands together to rescue these girls. I know that we can do it, Almighty Allah is with us, he knows our intention,” Hajia Nana said.
She further added:
“However, I feel it is necessary to call on all women in Borno to come up with their resolutions and harmonise them. Let us all put our differences aside, irrespective of our faith and ethnicity; let us all join hands together to rescue these girls. I know that we can do it, Almighty Allah is with us, he knows our intention,” Hajia Nana said.
She further added:
“I am sure for now we are not on our own. I am happy to inform you that
the wife of the president called me two days ago. I believe that she is
also with us, so let us all join hands together irrespective of
political affiliations,”
Most of the women who spoke at the meeting called on the federal government and the security agencies to intensify efforts towards rescuing the kidnapped schoolgirls.
Most of the women who spoke at the meeting called on the federal government and the security agencies to intensify efforts towards rescuing the kidnapped schoolgirls.
They also called for prayers and fasting in mosques and churches so
that God can touch the hearts of the insurgents to release the girls and
they agreed to mobilise to Abuja for the rally.
Also, Mrs. Aisha Wakil, who has been in the forefront of calling on the insurgents to lay down their arms and embrace dialogue, cautioned against the use of force in rescuing the girls.
Also, Mrs. Aisha Wakil, who has been in the forefront of calling on the insurgents to lay down their arms and embrace dialogue, cautioned against the use of force in rescuing the girls.
The meeting had in attendance wives of service chiefs in the state,
non-governmental organisations, women professional bodies,
representatives of Federation of Muslims Women Associations (FOMWAN) and
the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), among others.
Culled from ThisDayLive
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