The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Boko Haram’s worst impact already behind us, says Buhari

    Boko Haram’s worst impact already behind us, says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday declared that the worst impact of the insurgents, Boko Haram, in Nigeria is already over.

    He made the remark during inauguration of the Presidential Committee on the North-East Initiative (PCNI), chaired by Gen. Thiophilus Danjuma (Rtd.) at the State House, Abuja.

    According to him, the successes recorded against Boko Haram were mainly achieved through the patriotic efforts of the Nigeria’s armed forces.

    He said: “Fortunately, the worst of the insurgency is behind us.  This we owe principally to the valiant efforts of our military whose gallant efforts have significantly degraded the insurgency.

    “With these successes, many displaced persons are willing and ready to return home to pick up their lives and move forward.” He said

    He pointed out that many of the displaced persons sadly do not have anything to return to.

    “They have lost everything to the insurgency.  In addition, social and public services are also absent due to the massive destruction of public and private infrastructure.”

    According to him, the Government is committed to providing effective coordination and guidance towards addressing the humanitarian crisis, the resettlement and reconstruction of the North East region.

    To achieve these, he said that his government established the Presidential committee on the North East Initiative under the Chairmanship of General T.Y.
    Danjuma (Rtd), GCON, whom he noted is a man of proven integrity, outstanding patriotism and dedication.

    He said: “He will lead this Committee comprising members who have been carefully chosen from a wide spectrum of stakeholders.  The Committee will be the apex coordinating body for all interventions in the region including those by the public, private, national and international development partners.

    “The Committee is domiciled in the Presidency and is charged with responsibility for developing the strategy and implementation framework for rebuilding the North East region.

    “The PCNI would not exist in perpetuity or isolation.  Rather, it will exist for a period of 3 years, where after it is envisaged that a long-term regional development framework or entity may be established.”

    He said that the PCNI will for now be funded through Federal, State and Local Government appropriation, and funds from the private sector and international development partners.

    While expressing great trust and confidence in the General TY Danjuma’s team, he urged them to approach their task with dedication, commitment, accountability and transparency.

    He charged the Committee to take a quick look at the conditions of the IDPs and
    take urgent remedial measures to alleviate these conditions.

    “I also call on all stakeholders to give the PCNI their maximum support to enable it to deliver on its mandate.” He added

    He noted that the devastation to human lives and livelihoods by the insurgency in the North East was severe and resulted in more than an estimated 20,000 persons killed, an estimated 2.4 million persons displaced and billions of naira worth of personal and public assets destroyed.

    Gen. Danjuma, while thanking the private sector for their support, disclosed that all the N50 billion pledged for the intervention in the North East have not been redeemed.

    According to him, only N23 billion have been redeemed as he urged those still owing to pay up stressing that the committee is not ready to embarrass anybody even though it has the names of those that pledged.

    He said: “Most of the north east is today in a precarious  situation and is in dire need of the humanitarian support, reconstruction and peace building interventions. The resilience shown by the people of the north east gives hope that the task of rebuilding the region is one in which everyone has a role to play, starting from the people, the government and other critical actors, and indeed, the whole nation

    “In line with terms of reference of the PCNI, we have developed the Buhari Plan, an implementation framework. The interventions contained in the Buhari plan have been designed for targeted, integrated interventions by the federal and state governments with support from international development partners, local charities, the Nigerian and international business communities as well as other donors.

    “This key character of the plan ensures leveraging of all existing capacities and making maximum use of limited resources. Most importantly, implementation, oversight and accountability for this plan will be provided directly from the presidency through the Presidential Committee for the North East Initiative, PCNI.

    “We acknowledge the contributions from various sources, particularly during the fund raising for the victims support funds for the north east. However, from this fund raising only half of the pledges that were made have been redeemed. I therefore call on everyone to key into the strategic coordination framework of the PCNI: the Buhari plan and make contributions to its implementation because every key is a stakeholder.

    “It is therefore expected that all interventions, especially the federal ministries, departments and agencies, the state government, NGOs, international partners, the private sector and individuals will align their contributions to the aspirations to the aspiration of the Buhari Plan.

    “Mr. President, your assessment of the dire situation in the north east justifies your prescription of the remedy in establishing the PCNI. Rebuilding the north east will be resource intensive and cannot be done overnight but it is a task that must be done in the overall interest of our nation.” He added

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal noted that the committee’s inauguration is the first step towards the development of the North- East.

  • Boko Haram: Air Force to buy new jet

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is seeking to add an additional C295W military aircraft to its fleet as the battle against the Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) reaches an advance stage.

    The NAF has been crucial to the recent victories recorded by the military in the Northeast, through series of sustained aerial bombardment of camps and locations of Boko Haram militants.

    The aircraft is to be purchased from Airbus Defence and Space Company Spain which had earlier in the year made proposals to the leadership of the NAF and submitted a sale proposal to the Air Force.

    The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, recently played host to Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, Alfonso Barnuevo Sebastian De Erice, who led two executives of Airbus Defence and Space Company (Spain) to Headquarters Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and held discussion on the company’s proposal to sell the C295W military aircraft to the NAF.

     According to the NAF, based on its operational capabilities, the aircraft was considered suitable to meet some of its operational needs including Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and airlift operations. The NAF has also recommended the aircraft for acquisition and provisions have been made for this in the 2017 budget proposal.

    The CAS has also urged the visiting team to start looking into training areas for NAF pilots and technicians on the aircraft. This, the CAS said, is with a view to ensuring a smooth take-off for the operation of the aircraft in the event of its approval by the Federal Government.

     According to Airbus Defence and Space Company, “The C95W aircraft has a robust airframe integrating an optimised cabin and redundant systems. The medium-sized aircraft can operate either as a single transport fleet or complement heavy airlifters and transport helicopters. The new wing design with winglets allows for the carriage of more payload to long distances and ensures the aircraft to achieve 4% fuel savings.”

    It also has the capacity to carry up to 71 troops or up to 9t of cargo, it is also equipped with fully integrated tactical system (FITS), which coordinates the data from the mission sensors to enhance mission awareness and support decision making. The C295W can fly at a maximum cruise speed of 480km/h and can reach a maximum altitude of 25,000ft.

     The new C95W  is equipped with winglets and uprated engines to deliver improved performance than its predecessor as the under-wing stations of the aircraft can be fitted with CIRIT 70mm laser-guided missile, LUMTAS laser-guided, long-range anti-tank missile, and TEBER laser-guided bomb according to Airbus.

     For the fight against Boko Haram the installed self-defence equipment and systems including cockpit armour, radar warning receiver (RWR), missile approach warning system (MAWS), laser warning system (LWS), and chaff / flares dispensers will become effective.

    Countries which has recently purchased the C295W aircraft include: Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Mali. 

  • Dasuki didn’t steal $2.2 billion, says Jonathan

    Dasuki didn’t steal $2.2 billion, says Jonathan

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan has come to the defense of his former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.

    Dasuki is presently facing trial for the embezzlement of funds meant for purchase of equipment and other logistics for the war against the insurgents, Boko Haram, in the North-East.

    Speaking at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, Jonathan maintained that Dasuki didn’t steal $2.2 billion.

    In a statement by his Media Adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, the former President said that he worked for next the generation during his tenure and not next election.

    Defending his administration’s Transformation Agenda, he said that it was designed to engage the latent potential in the entire nation and stimulate higher productivity.

    He said: “While serving as President of Nigeria, I worked for the next generation and not for the next elections. Somebody must sacrifice and work for the next generation otherwise your children’s children will suffer the same predicaments as you have.

    Jonathan, who was speaking to students of Oxford University on youth entrepreneurship, also pointed out that quality education and youth empowerment were at the heart of Africa’s growth and development.

    “I am excited to be in the midst of some of the World’s future leaders to discuss issues relating to youth empowerment and entrepreneurship. The issue of youth entrepreneurship in Africa is very critical, as Africa is the only continent in which we will witness a population boom.

    “Most violent crises in Africa can be traced to a lack of education and opportunities among its teeming youth population. Studies have revealed that there is a symbiotic relationship between youth unemployment and youth restiveness.

    “As a leader, you can decide through your policies to educate the youths, or face the consequences of failing to do so. The Transformation Agenda was conceived to engage the latent potential in the entire nation, and to stimulate and enable higher productivity,” he added.

    He emphasized that his Administration came up with various programmes to encourage young entrepreneurs including the youth enterprise with innovation in Nigeria (YOUWIN). We reformed the institutions and introduced various mechanisms to stop the problems associated with in our country without much publicity.

    “We may not have been perfect, but we did our best, and our best yielded an era of unprecedented economic growth for Nigeria. A growth that proved the truism that a Nation’s wealth is not underneath the ground but between the ears of her people. Nigeria was rated as the
    largest economy in Africa and the 23rd in the world by the World Bank and the IMF, with a GDP above US$570 billion.”

    “We identified Nollywood as a sector that can employ many young people and provided a grant of $200 million to boost the industry. As a result, Nollywood became a major contributor to our GDP and in 2014, the industry contributed 1.4% to our GDP.

    Jonathan also recalled that as Governor of Bayelsa State and later the President of Nigeria, he asked himself some critical questions:

    “Why do individuals that grow up in similar circumstances end up differently, with some as successes and others as failures? Why are some nations rich and some poor? Is the wealth of nations a result of geography, weather, culture, destiny? What could a leader do to effectively lift a people out of the depths of poverty, and enable them to achieve prosperity?

    “After much soul searching, I concluded that: wealth is a creation of the human mind properly prepared by education. Any nation that does not spend its wealth and resources to develop the capacity of its youth will be forced to use them to fight insecurity”

    He challenged African leaders to see youth entrepreneurship as a collective project transcending national boundaries.

    Despite incredible challenges, he said that Nigerian youths are achieving great things and placing Nigeria positively in the world map.

  • Military deny missing soldiers report

    The Nigerian Army high command on Saturday strongly refuted claims that over 83 soldiers including one officer are still missing following a Boko Haram attack on troop’s location in Gashigar, a northern Borno community close to the Niger border.
    The army had reported some soldiers missing and 13 others injured after “escaping remnants of Boko Haram” fighters overran the troop’s location.
    Acting Director, Army Public Relations (ADAPR), Col. Sani Usman in a release said: “The troops did their best to defend the location in vain. In the process, 13 soldiers’ sustained injuries while some are still missing in action.”
    While Usman declined to mention the number of soldiers still missing, he said efforts were on to locate and rescue them. However, an online news portal claimed in a new report that at least 83 soldiers and one officer identified as Lt. Col. K Yusuf was missing.
    The news portal also claimed that corruption has returned to the military as Brigade and Troops commanders usually deduct N200 from the troop’s daily food fee of N500 leaving soldier’s morale perpetually low.
    However in an interview with our correspondent, Acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier General Rabe  Abubakar decried unpatriotic comments about the Nigerian army which is doing its best to bring Boko Haram insurgency to an end.
    “ It is disgusting that this kind of story which has no source is published,” Abubakar said lamenting that some news portals allowed sentiments to cloud the sense of professionalism in reporting security issues.
    “ The question is who did they interview, where and when, this is purely mischief as we vowed not to hid any information from our citizens that’s why we give updates on daily basis. If there is anything like this it ought to come from us not an online media.
    “ In the past, when we had some setbacks, we reported it to our citizens, we are Nigerians working for our country, we love our people better than any other alien, why this story now when we are winning? All the allegations are concocted with sinister motives by the medium having failed in their previous campaign of calumny against us,” Abubakar said.
    The Defence spokesperson also said Nigerian troops are the most professional and have done the country proud anywhere they are deployed. HE said the Army has had the unprecedented gains by dislodging Boko Haram terrorists. “ Therefore this media is not reporting but speculating and should not be taken seriously,” he said.
    Also Col. Usman said he will not want to comment on the efforts so far to rescue the missing personnel so as not to hamper on-going efforts and investigations but insisted that the claims were false. “ I will tell you here that the story is not true, there is no truth in it,” Usman said.
  • Release of 21 Chibok girls excites Lagos women

    Release of 21 Chibok girls excites Lagos women

    • As group marches for President Buhari

    The African Arise For Change Network, a coalition of women groups on Friday expressed joy with the recent release of 21 Chibok girls, saying President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Military have indeed restored happiness to the homes of not only the Chibok girls’ families but every concerned mother in the country.

    The women who held what they described as a thank you rally for the release of the girls in Lagos urged Nigerians to continue supporting the government to ensure that the last of those being held by Boko Haram – other than the Chibok Girls are safely returned to their families.

    The group led a peaceful rally from Ikeja City Mall at Alausa to Lagos State governor’s office. addressing the rally, Executive Director of the group, Mrs Oluwatosin Bolarinwa commended the Nigerian military as well as the intelligence agencies that were instrumental in degrading the Boko Haram insurgency to the point where negotiation became possible, which eventually paved way for the release of the girls.

    Addressing the rally, Executive Director of the group, Mrs Oluwatosin Bolarinwa commended the Nigerian military as well as the intelligence agencies that were instrumental in degrading the Boko Haram insurgency to the point where negotiation became possible, which eventually paved way for the release of the girls.

    She paid special tribute to the families and loved ones of military personnel who paid the supreme price in the course of fighting the insurgents to ensure the girls regain their freedom.

    She said with this achievement, the federal government as led by President Muhammadu Buhari has turned around what many Nigerians had given up hope about.

    She said, “Our rally today is for no other reason than to say thank you to Mr President, you promised to bring the girls back and some of us were already losing hope when it was taking time but today we are beginning to see the wisdom of focusing on getting the girls out safely as opposed to applying brute force.

    “Thank you to the military, whose members sacrificed on countless occasions to keep the operation against the terrorists going. Thank you to the parents and families of the Chibok Girls for the many months of patience with Nigeria while their girls were held, hostage. Nothing is enough to compensate for countless nights of uncertain vigils.

    “This thank you rally will not be complete without us asking for more. We appeal to the government not to relent at this point. It should quicken the pace at which the remaining girls are freed from the terrorists.”

    According to her, the recent attacks by Boko Haram terrorists on soft targets are to create fear in the minds of our peoples that they are still around. She, however, said Nigerians are no longer afraid of them as our military has demonstrated enough capacity to be equal to any uprising by any unscrupulous element that rises up to challenge our humanity.

    She further appealed to the government not to bring the military operations against the insurgents to close simply on account of the girls being freed. According to her, some of the fighters are known hardliners who will not sign up to the peace deal.

    They were received by Mr Taiwo Ayedun, the Special Assistant to Ambode on civic engagement, who spoke on behalf of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, saying: “We also want to say a very big thank you for your concern. It is a collective responsibility and we want to assure Nigerians that very soon the remaining girls will join their parents at home.

  • Shi’ites: Before we create another Boko Haram

    SIR: The intensification of protest by members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) popularly known as “Shi’ites”, which the media has reported to have claimed 16 lives in Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto and Kano States is disturbing. As the group continues this fight for the release of their leader Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, anyone with historical knowledge of the birth and rise of Boko Haram will agree that the existing situation signals danger.

    As authorities continue to bury their heads in the sand about this issue, the multifaceted campaign by Shi’ite group may, however, continue to grow in number and locations, and possibly lead to more loss of lives.

    Giving that history is trying to repeat itself, there is urgent need to take drastic steps to end this palpable bedlam. But the question is how?

    Firstly, the continuous incarceration of religious leaders such as El-Zakzaky, without charging them to court for offences they are accused of, is nothing but an invitation to anarchy. The established laws of the land regarding arrest and prosecution should be amply followed.

    Secondly, an approach or strategy in relation to an awareness forum that will stop the movement of jihad ideology propaganda and also de-radicalize the youths that have been inspired ideologically has to be created by working with trusted religious and community leaders.

    If established, the forum’s framework should address the various religious, social, economic, political and other factors that create platforms upon which violent and terrorist groups are able to recruit and win support. The programmes must further ensure that those, currently within terrorists’ areas of influence and those outside of it, that are yet to be inspired or radicalized by bigots are protected from extremist ideologies.

    Thirdly, there has to be a complete devotion to the introduction of a religious curriculum that will attempt to illumine our people on the difference between what really is a religious innovation developed in the last few centuries by a handful of overenthusiastic people and what is truly Islamic.

    Lastly, we must learn from past failures, and going forward figure out which precedents can best inform future responses to proliferation of perverted religious ideologies.

    These, in my assessment, are truly some of the most viable and best hopes of stopping the Shi’ites’ revolt, and achieving any form of victory against this monster called terrorism in Nigeria, else the rise of something worse than Boko Haram is all but assured.

     

    • David Dimas,

    Laurel, Maryland, U.S.A

  • Nigerians in Diaspora Protest Shiite Extremism

    Nigerians in Diaspora Protest Shiite Extremism

    • Call For El- Zakzaky’s Prosecution

    More voices have risen to protest the activities of the Islamic group, Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), in Nigeria. This is even as Nigerians in Diaspora have expressed their condemnation over the inability of the federal government to clamp the group.

    The group which held a protest in this regard at the United Nations Building and Nigeria House, New York City, on Monday, have also called on the government to speedily prosecute the arrested leader of the group, Mr Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.

    The group led by its spokesperson, Cosmas Collins warned that the IMN like Boko Haram may escalate into a full-blown terrorist group if ignored. According to them, if the mistake of also pampering the movement is repeated by not prosecuting members of the Islamic IMN for their acts of violence against the state and against citizens of Nigeria then the nation may be on the verge of nurturing another full blown terrorist organisation.

    Warning further, they said, “The group’s members have mirrored every single crime committed by Boko Haram in its formative years yet nothing significant have been done to put its members on trial for breaching the peace in manners that resulted in the loss of life.

    While condemning the actions of the Movement, the diasporans also called for the prosecution of the movement’s leader,Mr. Zakzaky who has since been in detention as according to them, this silence might act as encouragement for the extremists.

    “It may also not be a mistake, in which case the delay in prosecuting detained IMN leaders could be a silent plea for international backing by the Nigerian government. It is important the world is able to reassure the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that they have the world’s support for nipping the growing terror of IMN in the bud. A clear message must be sent to the government that the firmness with which it deals with the IMN threat is a matter global interest as any fallout from delay in dealing with the threat posed by the group will affect the whole world”. They warned.

    They claimed further that failure to prosecute these people, including El-Zakyzaky is making other groups think of coming out because it is now believed that it is fashionable to take on the state without consequences.  Therefore encouraged the government to consider bringing charges of subversion against members of the group for inviting Iranian intervention in Nigeria’s internal affairs, adding that the government should investigate the finances of the group and its senior members to see if they have been beneficiaries of Iranian sponsorship of terrorism.

  • AUN commends FG over released Chibok girls

    AUN commends FG over released Chibok girls

    The American University of Nigeria (AUN) at the weekend commended the Federal Government on the release of 21 Chibok Girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno state in 2014.

    AUN President, Margee Ensign made the commendation in a statement issued by the Executive Director, Communications and Public Relations, Daniel Okereke, in Abuja on Sunday.

    She commended the government for its ongoing efforts to seek the release of the remaining women, and urged authorities to work tirelessly to free those still being held.

    “The American University of Nigeria (AUN) today hailed the news that 21 young women kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists were released 913 days after their abduction from the village of Chibok in the country’s northeast.

    “I am thrilled that the young women have been released and hope that after they recover they are able to continue their lives and education in peace.

    “We stand ready to help rebuild the lives of all of these young women and their families,” Prof Ensign said in the statement.

    She stated that the institution has a special bond with all of the victims and their families, adding that 24 of the 58 girls who escaped been kidnapped are now studying at the institution.

    “AUN has a special bond with all of the victims and their families. Of the 58 young women who escaped that night in April 2014, 24 are now studying at AUN on full scholarships provided by a donor from the U.S.

    “They are placed under a preparatory Foundation program at AUN where they receive specialized tutoring in English and math. Last year two of the young women were admitted into the university’s undergraduate programs, having met JAMB requirement, and four more were fully enrolled this fall,” she said.

    One of the escaped Chibok girl who is studying medicine at the university expressed happiness in the release of the girls.

    “We are happy beyond words that some of our sisters and friends are now free. We hope and pray that those still held will be given their freedom soon, and that some will join us here so that we can all work to rebuild our home,” she said in the statement.

    “AUN does not release the identities of the students for security reasons,” the statement added.

  • Buhari commends Red Cross over Chibok girls’ release

    Buhari commends Red Cross over Chibok girls’ release

    Says talks will continue with Boko Haram if international agencies are involved

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday commended the role played by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the release of the 21 abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

    He also urged the organization to sustain the humanitarian interest it has in Nigeria.

    The President spoke when he met with ICRC President, Mr. Peter Maurer at the State House, Abuja.

    The President, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said that his administration is prepared to continue talks with the Boko Haram insurgent group, “as long as they agree to involve international agencies like ICRC.

    “We’ve seen the result of recent talks, 21 of the Chibok girls are back,” the President said, referring to the role played by ICRC in providing immediate humanitarian assistance to the girls, who had spent over 900 days in the hands of their abductors.

    He noted that Nigeria’s biggest problem was perhaps the issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs), stressing that there “were over 2 million of them made up of over 60% women and children. About 60% of the children don’t know their parents, or where they come from. It is weighing heavily on government.”

    On rebuilding of destroyed infrastructure, the President said it was a priority of government, noting that the G7 had equally indicated support, which Nigeria heartily welcomed.

    “We appreciate all your efforts. I am pleased you recognized that our military is cooperating with civil authorities, and respecting humanitarian issues. It is a difficult time for Nigeria. About 27 of our 36 states couldn’t pay salaries when we came last year, and we are still struggling with that. But we will get out of it,” the President said.

    Maurer said their operation in the Lake Chad region is the second largest in the world, after Syria, adding that there are nutritional, health, water and sanitation issues in the North-east, in addition to rebuilding of infrastructure.

    “We are ready to engage and play supportive role in responding to crisis in Nigeria. Security is a lot better than it was a year ago, but humanitarian problems are serious, and don’t disappear so quickly,” Maurer said.

    The ICRC President also commended Nigeria for granting increased access to detainees, and exchanges with the Armed Forces.

    “Detention facilities have improved, there are fewer deaths, and things are better health-wise.” He stated

  • Hope beyond Chibok

    Hope beyond Chibok

    The girls’ freedom is as unforgettable as their abduction was unparalleled. Never in the history of Nigeria or, for that matter, any other country, had some 276 pupils been seized and taken away from their school in one night. And never had any government betrayed such lethargy and lack of character as that of former President Goodluck Jonathan when the unthinkable did indeed happen, a failing which, some have said, ruled out prompt rescue of the girls.
    Nor have Nigerians ever come up against such an ambitious and bloodthirsty sect as Boko Haram, which claimed responsibility for the Chibok abduction. Not that there wasn’t anything similar. In the 1980s, the Maitasine riots shook a good chunk of the North, claiming thousands of lives across Sokoto, Maiduguri, Kano, Yola and Bauchi, but the sect which could well have been the precursor of Boko Haram, did not claim territory, hoist a caliphate flag or abduct schoolchildren.
    On Thursday, two and a half years since their abduction, 21 of the girls were freed. They came looking frail and gaunt and had such a vacant gaze that even without the training of a medical doctor or psychologist, you were sure that nearly three years in the hands of their abductors left them not just physically bruised but probably mentally drained. But, bruised or drained, it was pure joy having the 21 back.
    Yet, it was joy amid grief. On Wednesday a blast killed eight and injured 15 in Maiduguri, a city which the terror group coveted so much that it hit it so relentlessly. In January last year a similar explosion killed 19 persons at a crowded market in the city, a 10-year-old suicide bomber blamed for the blast. That Wednesday some eight members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, also known as the Shia sect, were killed in skirmishes across Kaduna, Katsina and Sokoto during a procession. The Shiites were reportedly attacked by mobs, which seemed to denounce them almost everywhere they turned up. Clearly, more work must be done to curb sectarian violence and reassure everyone that indeed they are free to identify with any religion and are protected to practice it within the confines of the law.

    The release of the 21 girls, brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government, has triggered some academic concerns. One, did the government swap the girls for some Boko Haram commanders? Two, was money paid to the Islamist group before the girls were freed?

    Both questions are irrelevant, whether the answers are yes or no. In hostage situations, both options are routinely applied provided the abducted are freed. Information minister Lai Mohammed has said there was no such swap, and that the return of the girls was the product of painstaking work and trust on the side of government and of Boko Haram.

    Finding the girls and bringing them back was a task Dr Jonathan and his government clearly failed to accomplish. They doubted that the girls were taken away in the first place, and when they could no longer deny, they just did not have the heart for any rescue. Even when they tried to negotiate with Boko Haram, they came up against swindlers and remained clueless till the end.

    The Muhammadu Buhari administration deserves credit. The rescue of the 21 girls happened at a time Boko Haram was factionalised and a certain Abubakar Shekau had been killed several times over. So securing the release of this number of the girls when no one was sure who was in command of the group must the result of some credible effort, as Alhaji Mohammed inferred.

    The return of the 21 Chibok girls must have forced some to revise their positions, one of which that President Buhari promised more than he could deliver. Some also concluded that the girls would have been scattered, possibly across borders, married off or killed. The return of the 21 offers hope that though the girls may have been dehumanised, in fact, one returned with a baby, at least, some are alive and can recover their lives.

    The best news of Thursday silenced those who said the whole thing was a hoax, a point that was driven home by a relieved Chibok community leader who, alongside his people, was not only troubled by the abduction but also haunted by the fact that some believed it did not take place.

    Chibok, a little humble town, exploded in joy as the 21 were freed. But it was joy that spread beyond its borders to neighbouring communities all the way to the nation’s capital and across national boundaries. The abduction got the attention of world leaders, each adding their voice to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. With the release of the 21, they have started voicing their relief, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair being one of the first to speak. Mr Blair said he was happy the 21 have come out, urging that the rest be found and returned too. United States First Lady Michelle Obama should be too, as should others who, in vain, nudged Dr Jonathan to secure the Chibok girls’ release.

    Thursday also brought hope that the nearly 200 girls still in captivity could return, and, away from abductions, that perhaps the unflattering national economy could also get a lift.