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Tag: Chibok girls

  • EXCLUSIVE: I took two Chibok girls for wife – Captured Boko Haram commander

    EXCLUSIVE: I took two Chibok girls for wife – Captured Boko Haram commander

    This is an exclusive investigative report by The Nation’s Olatunji Ololade, Associate Editor, who spent several weeks in war-ravaged parts of Borno State.

    Find the teaser below and the full report in The Nation on Saturday.

    [quote font_size=”14″ color=”#000000″ bgcolor=”#dda858″ bcolor=”#dd3333″ arrow=”yes”]A former commander of Boko Haram fighters has sensationally revealed how he forcibly married two of the over 250 Chibok school girls abducted by the terror sect in April 2014.

    And the Christian –turned Islamist fighter, Joseph David, now says the two Chibok girls were part of the benefits that accrued to his office as a Boko Haram commander.

    Ironically, David himself was kidnapped by the sect from his native Mubi, Adamawa State, aged 22.

    He claimed to be a student of the Adamawa State Polytechnic, Yola at the time.

    Now 25 and in security custody after he was captured by soldiers battling the sect, David said he was placed on a salary of N500, 000 per month or its foreign equivalent.

    With that kind of hefty salary, he could afford the luxury of three wives.

    The Chibok girls came soon after he married his first wife, Faridah.

    Life in Sambisa Forest seemed to be getting rosier for him by the day until he incurred the wrath of his “commander-in-chief” – Abubakar Shekau.[/quote]

  • Waiting for Hassana: A story of Chibok girls

    Waiting for Hassana: A story of Chibok girls

    A film designed to tell the story of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, Waiting for Hassana, is fast becoming a medium to change the narrative about the Boko Haram insurgency.
    Beyond that, it has also revealed the love story between two pupils of Chibok School, Jessica and Hassana, who were victims of the kidnappers in Chibok on April 14, 2014.
    The first platform where the film was shown to a global audience was at its premiere in the United States where 46,660 people attended at Sundance International Film Festival, the largest film festival in the US. It was also shown in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort.
    Waiting For Hassana is a short documentary directed by Ifunanya ‘Funa’ Maduka, and produced by Uzodinma Iweala and Ifunanya Maduka. It tells the story of the Chibok abductions from a single perspective — a voice of one of the 57 escapees. The film was shot last year in Nigeria by the famous cinematographer, Victor Okhai.
    Nnamdi Asomugha, a Nigerian-American and former NFL cornerback turned producer, is the primary backer and executive producer of the project. Gallerist, Edward Tyler Nahem, and philanthropists, Ann and Andrew Tisch, are also executive producers.
    According to Okhai, Jessica’s handkerchief, which was getting in the way of recording, formed the crux of the film’s story line. He recalled that during the recording in Chibok, Jessica revealed that the handkerchief was her only item to represent Hassana , her very close friend who is yet to return home after the kidnap.
    “Hassana was Jessica’s best friend. When they were kidnapped, Hassana encouraged Jessica to get on the truck. But in their journey, some of the girls attempted to jump out of the moving truck. And Hassana encouraged her to do so. But Hassana was held back because she was searching for her shoes and by then, Jessica had jumped down thinking Hassana did, only to discover that it was another girl that jumped. As we speak, Hassana is still missing and the handkerchief was the last gift Hassana gave Jessica few days before Boko Haram kidnapped the girls. Until Hassana is found, Jessica’s joy will never be full,” Okhai said.
    He noted that the rescue of some of the girls in itself is a victory, adding that even while editing was on, requests were received for its screening at international festivals.
    He said the next show of the film is at South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin, Texas, US, which ran from March 10 to 18, hoping to premiere it in Nigeria by third quarter of the year. He said many festival organisers are asking for the film screening.
    “It has been awesome going by responses from the audience. The film is always shown to a full house and was selected as the opening film for the festival,” he said, noting that the lesson from the film is resilience, doggedness, friendship and loyalty.
    These reflections are fresh windows to the global story many are aware of. With this, the international audience can be visually and sonically plugged into the psychological and emotional landscape of the subject.
    Waiting For Hassana is the result of a team of Nigerians dedicated to telling our own stories to ourselves and the world. Waiting For Hassana is a film that seeks to reframe the narrative about the Chibok abductions by emphasising the strength and perseverance of an interrupted friendship that is both a source of profound pain and intense motivation to pursue a better life through education.
    Iweala is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and a medical doctor. His first novel, Beasts of No Nation, was released in 2005 to critical acclaim, and won numerous awards.
    Beasts of No Nation was translated into 14 languages and selected as a New York Times Notable Book, and it was adapted into the Netflix Film by the same name. He is also the Editor-in-Chief and CEO of Ventures Africa, a Lagos-based news platform covering police, business, and culture in Nigeria, Africa, and the world.
    A graduate of Harvard College, Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, Iweala is also a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University.

  • Jonathan denies rejecting UK’s offer to rescue Chibok girls

    Jonathan denies rejecting UK’s offer to rescue Chibok girls

    The Office of the former President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday debunked claims that the last administration rejected an offer by British forces to rescue the kidnapped Chibok school girls.

    A statement issued by Media Adviser to the ex-President, Ikechukwu Eze, reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a report that has been trending, without proper attribution, to the effect that the last administration rebuffed British offer to rescue the kidnapped Chibok school girls.

    “We wish to promptly point out that nothing can be further from the truth, as Nigerians are conversant with the efforts made by the Jonathan administration towards rescuing the Chibok girls, especially in relation to collaborating with the international community, in the bid.

    “We can confidently say that the lies in this report are self -evident. This is because the international press as well as the Nigeria media actively covered the multinational efforts and collaboration which involved some of the major powers deploying their crack intelligence officers to work with our own security operatives, and those of our neighbours.

    “In the course of the mission, the international team, including members from Nigeria’s neighbours of Chad, Niger and Cameroun, met regularly with our own intelligence officers to plan and conduct their operations.

    “In fact, the Jonathan administration was so genuinely supportive that the foreign powers involved were granted permission to overfly our airspace, while conducting the search and rescue missions.

    “We would wish to recall that this collaboration was made possible following letters personally written by former President Jonathan to ex- President Barack Obama of the United States, President Francois Hollande of France, Mr. David Cameron, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as well as personal contacts made to the Governments of Israel and China, seeking their assistance in the search for the abducted Chibok girls.”

    Stressing that some people are playing politics with the issue of the Chibok girls, he said that such people will stop at nothing to further their interest.

    He urged media houses to always cross-check their facts before rushing to publish false information, especially when being spread by those who want to unfairly promote their own pride, against the national interest.

     

     

     

     

  • Fed Govt to BBOG: stop grandstanding on Chibok girls

    Fed Govt to BBOG: stop grandstanding on Chibok girls

    •‘Stick to your advocacy role’

    THE Federal Government has advised the BringBackOurGirls Group (BBOG) to see the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as a partner rather than an adversary in the group’s quest to secure release of the Chibok girls.
    Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who spoke in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said it amounted to needless grandstanding for the BBOG to say it would no longer tolerate “delays” and “excuses” from the President on release of the girls.
    He added that the BBOG’s continued portrayal of the government as an adversary and the needless firing of darts at the “President, who is doing his utmost best to bring the girls back home safely, are ultimately counter-productive”.
    The statement said: ‘’The Federal Government has bent over backwards to carry the BBOG along and to show transparency in the conduct of the search for the girls. The recent invitation extended to the group to witness first-hand the search for the girls by the Nigerian Air Force is a clear indication of this.
    ‘’However, it came to us as a surprise that in spite of its initial positive report on the tour, the BBOG has too quickly reverted to its adversarial role. BBOG should stick to its role as an advocacy group rather than pretending to be an opposition party. The synonyms of the word ‘advocacy’ do not include ‘antagonism’, ‘opposition’ or ‘attack’.
    “In fact, those words are the antonyms of advocacy,” he said.
    Mohammed said the needless grandstanding by the BBOG and its use of impudent language should have been reserved for those, who did nothing in the first 500 days of the girls’ abduction, “not for a President who has presided over the liberation of all captured territory, the opening of shuts schools and roads, the safe release of some of the abducted girls and the decimation of Boko Haram”.
    He assured Nigerians that the efforts to bring the girls back safely were continuing, but sought their understanding for not divulging any further details so as not to jeopardise the intricate process.
    ‘’Let me say unequivocally that the people involved in the negotiations are working 24/7. The negotiations are complicated, tortuous and delicate. Any wrong signal is capable of derailing things. That’s why the less we say about the talks, the better it is for all.
    ‘’We need a huge amount of confidence-building, the kind of which led to the release of the 21 of the girls. This has been lacking for years, but right now we are confident that we are on the right track.
    “We won’t do anything to jeopardise these talks, irrespective of the pressure or provocation from any quarter,” the minister said.

  • FG to BBOG: Stick to your advocacy role

    FG to BBOG: Stick to your advocacy role

    The Federal Government on Monday advised the Bring Back Our Girls Group to stick to its advocacy role.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also urged the group to see the government as a partner rather than an adversary in its quest to secure the release of the Chibok girls.

    The minister in a statement signed by one of his aides, Mr. Segun Adeyemi, said the incessant attack of the current government is counter- productive.

    He said, “The BBOG’s continued portrayal of the government as an adversary and the needless firing of darts at the President, who is doing his utmost best to bring the girls back home safely, could be ultimately counter-productive.

    ”The Federal Government has bent over backwards to carry the BBOG along and to show transparency in the conduct of the search for the girls.

    “The recent invitation extended to the group to witness first-hand the search for the girls by the Nigerian Air Force is a clear indication of this.

    ”However, it came to us as a surprise that despite its initial positive report on the tour, the BBOG has too quickly reverted to its adversarial role.

    “BBOG should stick to its role as an advocacy group rather than pretending to be an opposition party. The synonyms of the word ‘advocacy’ do not include ‘antagonism’, ‘opposition’ or ‘attack.

    “In fact, those words are the antonyms of advocacy.”

     

  • 24 hours over Sambisa forest

    24 hours over Sambisa forest

    At the instance of the Federal Government, the Bring Back our Girls (BBOG) campaigners were flown to  Sambisa Forest by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for an assessment of the military’s efforts to locate the abducted Chibok schoolgirls and others. The BBOG came back with a different perception  of  troops and respect for the military. Assistant Editor Seun Akioye was part of the guided tour.

    Former Education Minister and Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) convener Dr Oby Ezekwesili and four other BBOG leaders arrived at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) 103 Strike Force Group in Yola like celebrities. They arrived in the company of Information, Culture and Tourism Minister, Lai Mohammed. Top NAF commanders, pilots, technicians and soldiers were at the facility to receive them.

    After the exchange of pleasantries, the former minister walked briskly towards the briefing room where the BBOG interacted with military chiefs.

     

    The first flight over Sambisa

    The briefing hall was packed with the dignitaries and soldiers, many of them directly involved in the fight against Boko Haram. In reenacting a war situation, the NAF followed every sequence of a mission briefing, including talks on the weather, the number of platforms that are available and serviceable, the nearest airports and platforms that could be called for rescue in case of an accident, rules about exiting the facility in case of fire, fire prevention equipment and where they could be found, medical information etc.

    The Air Officer Commanding, Tactical Air Command, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Nurudeen Balogun, who addressed the audience, is a tall and imposing man, conspicuous in any gathering. After giving a background on the Air Component of the war against insurgency, AVM Balogun gave a detailed background on the ‘point of interest’ – the Sambisa Forest.

    “Our main observation today is Sambisa Forest and it is 60,000 square kilometres or 18 times the size of Lagos. So, we are talking about a vast area,” Balogun said. There were some slight movements from the BBOG group as if trying to adjust to this new piece of information.

    He explained that the Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission of the NAF is to gather data and intelligence from the Theater of War, analyse information and transmit to the ground troops as a guide. The ISR can reveal the movement and location of enemy troops, the strength and what ammunitions are available. The ISR can also direct the ground troops to the likely strategy of enemy troops, this is done to prevent and minimise casualty among troops.

    After the fall of Camp Zairo, dubbed as the spiritual headquarters of Boko Haram, Balogun said the NAF had conducted several ISR missions in the Sambisa General Area and had made recent sightings of people in the region.

    Villages where human activities were recorded, include: Njimia, Dure, Tumbun Rego, Dogon Chuku, Arege and Camp Zairo itself. On January 12, 2017, a video showed a Boko Haram Terrorist (BHT) movement in Kangarawa on the way to attack a contingent of ground troops but were successfully repelled.

    On January 7, an ISR mission noted that some women and children were seen fleeing close to Dure village and again on January 8, a group of women, many of them in Hijab, and children were seen in Njimia, after analysing the data, a decision was taken to evacuate the fleeing women.

    “What do you mean by to evacuate,” Mrs Ezekwesili asked impatiently. If the NAF commanders were angry, they did not show it, instead, Balogun pleaded for patience as he explained the process of evacuation.

    A Mi-17 helicopter was deployed to evacuate the women and children in Dure, eight women and 11 children were evacuated and taken to Maiduguri where they were treated at the NAF hospital before handing them over to the government. A picture of the evacuation was shown on the slide and a sigh was let out among the civilians, the women looked emaciated and the scruffy children had sores on different parts of the body.

    The evacuation mission was not without its dangers. The AVM stood up to explain that the women might not have been ‘real women’ after all but Boko Haram fighters in disguise. “The fact that they are on Hijab does not mean they are women when you come close, you may discover they are actually men in disguise and they will open fire,” he said.

    AVM Balogun also explained that getting the Chibok schoolgirls and other abductees remained close to his heart and the NAF.

    His words: “Getting the girls is very close to our heart in the Air Force but we are careful not to bomb innocent people. We are fighting Boko Haram because they are killing innocent people. If we do the same, we are not different. We have many occasions where pilots came back with their bombs because they saw women and children.

    “We are doing everything we can to locate the girls. We conduct ISR both day and night. Some of the pilots do not return to base until 4:00am, looking for the girls and other abductees. I am glad you are here and you will see for yourself some of the things we have been doing,” he said.

    Understanding the capture of Camp Zairo

    The BBOG team had so many questions after the briefing. Aisha Yesufu, co-convener of the group, was more combative. She wanted to know more about the sightings of the abductees; showed concerns about calling some of the women terrorists. She wanted them to be seen as victims.

    But the Information Commissioner in Adamawa State, Ahmad Sajoh, would have none of that.  “These Boko Haram militants don’t think like us. They do not behave like normal people and so, you cannot deal with them with the same level of reasoning as you. In Magadali, some women were taken into the IDP camp but unknown to us, they had bombs strapped on them. These women carried their children and with the bomb detonated in an IDP camp, what kind of mother would kill her own child with a bomb,” he asked.

    When Mrs. Ezekwesili spoke, she sounded to be having some trouble processing some of the information that have been given. She wanted to know why the NAF was still fighting when the Sambisa Forest had been captured; how accurate is the coordination between the Army and the NAF and what would be the endgame of the whole operation.

    The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, responded. He said: “Boko Haram is not an organised force. As you have been told, Sambisa forest is a vast area and Camp Zairo is the spiritual headquarters of the group. The capture of the camp does not mean all of the fighters would disappear but it is significant because it was once said to be impregnable.

    “It is not the end of the war, but it is the end of the mission to capture the headquarters of Boko Haram. The end of a particular mission in a war is not the end of that war. There are still some of the fighters scattered around and that is why we are still mopping up the remnants,” he said.

    The team then moved to the flight line, two aircraft, King Air 350 Diamond Beechcraft waited for airlift. Young pilots stoop over a large map showing the sprawling Sambisa Forest. A young pilot explained the mission and locations the team will fly over.

    Ezekwesili wanted to be shown Chibok town and Sambisa Forest on the map. She knelt down with the pilots and began to trace the locations. “Look at the distance, how they managed to take them from here to there….”

    Several voices cut in, offering explanations that the girls were not transported at a go and they moved probably in the night. The entourage was then were ushered into the waiting aircraft for the two-hour sortie in search of the Chibok schoolgirls.

     The second flight over Sambia

    The second flight took place in the night around 2:00am but it involved only one Beechcraft surveillance plane. The BBOG group did not show any signs of weariness as they walked towards the tarmac, Ezekwesili emerged with her torchlight to show the way. Mohammed was still in the overall he wore in the morning and he also did not show any sign of fatigue. The flight lasted for more than two hours and the group went over several villages in the Sambisa General Area. When the crew returned in the wee hours, it was time to do a debriefing and it was Group Captain Olufemi Odeyinde’s turn to analyse the footage.

    After every ISR mission, the NAF technicians would take the footage and subject it to a thorough analysis. This, according to Odeyinka, was to determine the threat level captured and the appropriate response.

    In the two sorties over Sambisa, the team flew over Camp Zairo, Tokombere, Njimia and a certain location known as “Tree of Interest (TOI).”  According to Odeyinde, the TOI is a tree found in Sambisa Forest and some activities have been noted under its shade.

    “We have seen some activities around the tree but it has not called for an operation. Some of them were women and children. It has been under our radar for some time. We will keep monitoring it until we are sure of what it is,” he said.

    In the afternoon sortie, the team found two persons walking around the TOI but there were no activities at Camp Zairo.  “The whole place looked deserted and burnt,” he said. But Njimia was different. According to some of the pilots who have conducted several sorties over Sambisa, Njimia is a medium size community in the heart of Sambisa Forest. Not everybody in Njimia is a bad guy, that is why you have to be careful,” he said.

    During the sortie, about 14 women were seen moving around in Njimia which was relayed to the ground troops.

    The flight over Sambisa left the BBOG group with a new respect for the military and the efforts to find the abducted girls but not necessarily to change their model of protest for the rescue of the schoolgirls.

    “We embark on this journey on the invitation of the Federal Government to learn a few things. We have learnt that NAF is very much working to generate the information that supports Nigerian Army to ensure the security of the Theater of War. By joining NAF to do ISR day and night, we saw what it looks like to embark on a search for targets like the Chibok girls,” Mrs. Ezekwesili said.

    But she also reiterated that the experience only helped the group frame the question of their demand. “It helps to frame the question we have been asking. The information has enriched our demand. We leave here to say the Federal Government should be able to say what strategic decision should be taken. It becomes a strategic question and we will hold the government to a decision on what options work better for our girls and others, As citizen-activists, we shall remain the voice of the people and hold the government accountable to its promise to rescue the Chibok schoolgirls and others,” she added.

    [news_box style=”2″ display=”tag” tag=”Chibok” count=”6″ show_more=”on”]

  • We’re still negotiating release of Chibok girls, says minister

    We’re still negotiating release of Chibok girls, says minister

    The Federal Government is still negotiating with Boko Haram for the release of the Chibok schoolgirls and other abductees, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Lai Mohammed said yesterday.
    He spoke during a briefing following an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operation to the Sambisa forest.
    “Negotiations for the release of the girls have never stopped. In a situation like this, we use carrot and stick approach.
    “Even the success of the military also helped fast track the process of the negotiation for those who were released.
    “The negotiation is complicated, delicate and changes from time to time, but we are still talking and we are near breakthrough,” he said.
    The trip to Sambisa was organised for the leaders of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group to acquaint them with efforts by the military to find the Chibok girls and end the war on insurgency.
    “This government has nothing to hide; that is why we have brought you here so you can have a first-hand experience. We want to let the world know what we have been doing not only to recover the girls but also to end the insurgency,” Mohammed said.
    But the leader of the BBOG and former Minister of Education Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, said though the group had learnt some lessons about the workings of the military, its demand remained.
    “We have learnt that the Nigerian Air Force is working to generate the information that supports the Army to ensure security of the theatre of war.
    “By joining the NAF to do ISR day and night, we saw what it looks like to embark on a search for target like the abducted Chibok girls. It also helps to frame the question we have been asking. We leave here to say the Federal Government should be able to say what strategic decision should be taken.
    “Negotiations led to the highest yield of 21 girls, four came back after the military raided their bases, that is they either escaped or were found after the raid.
    “It becomes a strategic question. We will hold the Federal Government accountable to a decision on what options work better for our girls and others.
    “The information has empowered and enriched our demand. The Minister of Information has given the assurance that 80 girls would be part of a batch based on negotiation we will keep asking for that,” she said.
    The former minister also said knowing how important it is for the military to be equipped; the group will continue to call for the prosecution of all who have mismanaged military hardware funds.
    “Imagine what would have happened if the whole money had been spent on buying the equipment. We are more empowered to demand sanctions.”
    Mrs Ezekwezili praised the NAF on its innovative use of technology, saying it makes the efforts to be precise.
    She also called for improved transparency in the conduct of the war on insurgency, saying for as long as the war was prosecuted as a propaganda mission, there will be criticism and cynicism.
    She praised the “strong commitment” of the troops, saying the group had always been supportive of their efforts.
    “As citizen-activists, we shall remain the voice. We will hold the government accountable to its promise to rescue the Chibok girls and others,” she said.
    The BBOG leader also sought clarification on the capture of Camp Zairo. She said a proper understanding of Sambisa – the forest that was Boko haram’s stronghold – was necessary for Nigerians to put the capture of the Camp in perspectives. Mohammed described the capture of Camp Zairo as a strike at the heart of the insurgents. “When you strike Camp Zairo, you completely disorient the insurgents, but it does not mean the end of the campaign.”

  • Sambisa tour: BBOG joins FG’s search team

    Sambisa tour: BBOG joins FG’s search team

    The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group has sent a delegation to join the Federal Government’s team on a day search sorties for missing Chibok girls to Sambisa Forest.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the group reviewed the conditions it earlier gave to the government to travel with the team heading for the North East to witness first-hand the military’s ongoing search for the girls.

    The BBOG delegation included the convener of the group, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, the spokesperson of the Chibok community, Dr Manasseh Allen, Aisha Yusuf and Ibrahim Usman.

    It will be recalled that following the invitation extended to the group by the government to participate in the search mission the BBOG had given certain conditions before its members would join.

    Specifically, the group requested a  Pre-Tour Meeting with government officials and a retraction of some remarks allegedly made by the Chief of Army Staff, which it found to be slanderous.

    The government in a letter signed by the Minister of Information ad Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had rejected the conditions given by the group and insisted that the team would proceed on the trip as scheduled.

    Following the position of the government, NAN reports that the BBOG reviewed the conditions and indicated acceptance to participate in the exercise.

    In a letter to the Minister on Sunday night, the group asked the government to “quickly provide us more details of the tour duration and detailed logistics including the names of the local and
    international media on the delegation.

    ” We need this information to enable us to send you a more substantial letter conveying our acceptance to join the Guided Tour”.

    NAN reports that the Minister responded to the request by giving details of the trip and other requests by the group.

  • Fed Govt rejects BBOG conditions for joining Chibok Girls’ search mission

    Fed Govt rejects BBOG conditions for joining Chibok Girls’ search mission

    The Federal Government has rejected the conditions given by the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group for joining a day search sorties for missing Chibok girls in Sambisa Forest.

    In a letter addressed to the group’s convener, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, which was made available to reporters yesterday, the government said it was unable to postpone the trip as scheduled.

    The letter dated January 14 was signed by Minister of Information and Culture  Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    ‘’Thank you for your letter, dated January 13, which is in response to ours of January 11, requesting that we change the date of the proposed guided tour of the Northeast to accommodate a Pre-Tour Meeting between your organisation and some top officials of the Federal Government.

    ‘’We have also noted the conditions you gave for embarking on the trip, which include the said Pre-Tour Meeting and the retraction of some remarks allegedly made by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.- Gen. Tukur Buratai, which the #BBOG finds to be slanderous.

    ‘’We regret, however, to inform you that we are unable to postpone the trip as scheduled. ’’

    The government insisted the team would proceed on the trip today as scheduled because of the narrow window available to have a good weather on the day.

    It said payment for the satellite downlink streaming of the mission had been made for the day and shifting the date would require another round of booking to secure such a slot.

    The government added that apart from the BBOG members, local and international journalists had been invited for the trip, while some preparations had been made by the military.

    It noted that the remarks purportedly made by the Chief of Army Staff and the request for a meeting with its certain top officials were irrelevant to its request for the BBOG to join in the search mission.

    The government stressed that it extended the invitation to the BBOG  in recognition of the group’s commitment to the safe release of the Chibok girls in captivity and interest in the welfare of those who had been released.

    ‘’We hope that the BBOG will drop its conditions and join the trip, which shows the commitment of the Federal Government to securing freedom for the Chibok girls and its transparency in handling the issues of the girls. ’’

    The government, in a letter dated January 11, invited members of BBOG to a short trip in a military operational flight into Sambisa Forest in search of the missing Chibok girls.

    In the letter, the government asked the BBOG to nominate three of its members to join on the guided trip, from which two would join the sorties due to limited seats on the search plane.

    The government had stated that the trip would avail the BBOG the opportunity to witness and better understand the efforts being made to secure the freedom of the girls and other victims of Book Haram terrorists.

    The BBOG, in its reply to the invitation, requested the government to meet certain conditions before the tour and also demanded for a change in the scheduled date.

  • FG to BBOG: Let’s go search for Chibok girls in Sambisa

    FG to BBOG: Let’s go search for Chibok girls in Sambisa

    The Federal Government has thrown a challenge at the BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group as it intensifies efforts to find the remaining missing Chibok girls.
    It has invited the campaigners to be part of a mission to Sambisa Forest in Borno State, where the terror sect, Boko Haram once held sway.
    The group, led by former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwezili, has declined the invitation, saying government should apologise to the campaigners first.
    Sambisa forest used to serve as the operational camp and headquarters of the sect until it was flushed out of the vast territory towards the end of last year by troops.
    It was where the over 200 Chibok girls abducted in April 2014 by the sect were first taken to until some of them managed to escape and 20 others released last year.
    The BBOG has been critisising the federal government for not doing enough in rescuing the remaining girls in the custody of the terrorists.
    Government denied the allegation and said it is putting in a lot of efforts to get them freed.
    It is now sending a mission to the forest tomorrow on a fact finding trip and it wants the group to nominate two representatives to join the delegation.
    The trip will enable the campaigners to have firsthand information on the efforts being made by the military to rescue the girls.
    The government’s invitation was dispatched to the BBOG Convener, Oby Ezekwesili, on January 11 against the backdrop of continued protest by the campaigners for the rescue of the girls.
    The letter, which was signed by Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed, asked the BBOG to nominate two representatives who will join some journalists and others for the Sambisa Forest trip.
    The group responded yesterday and said it would not take up the challenge unless government apologizes for the decision of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, to give audience to and endorse an opposition group that referred to the #BBOG as a social advocacy terrorism.
    The invitation letter to BBOG reads: “Let me congratulate you most sincerely for the continuing interest of your group, Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), in the fate of the Chibok girls, including those who have regained freedom and those who remain in captivity.
    “In recognition of your unwavering commitment to the freedom of the girls who remain in captivity, you are invited to nominate three of the BBOG members to join you on a guided trip to the North-East on Monday, 16 Jan. 2017.
    “The trip, being planned by the military, will see the Ministers of Defence and Information as well the Chief of Air Staff joining the invited BBOG members and a select group of journalists, first to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Command Centre in Yola to witness first-hand the efforts being made to search for the girls by the NAF and then join the day and night sorties with the NAF to the Sambisa Forest.
    “Please note that due to limited seats on the search planes only two of the invited BBOG members will join the NAF sorties.
    “After the sorties, the team will return to Yola for a briefing by the NAF on their daily search for the girls, as well as all those who have been abducted by Boko Haram.
    “It is our belief that this trip will avail the BBOG the opportunity to witness and better understand the efforts being made by the Nigerian military to secure freedom for the girls.
    “While awaiting your response, please accept the assurances of my highest considerations.”
    However, #BBOG, in a letter signed by Dr. Ezekwesili demanded an apology from the Chief of Army Staff for giving audience to and endorsing an opposition group that referred to the #BBOG as a social advocacy terrorism, before considering the request to join the mission to Sambisa Forest.
    It said:”Before proceeding on further discussions on the proposed visit, we propose a pre tour meeting to discuss pertinent issues that will help inform our decision to proceed.
    “We believe that this prior meeting will help provide firsthand knowledge of and answers to questions that our movement wishes to raise ahead of the guided visit.
    “We propose that participants at the meeting be the National Security Adviser to the President and the other officials of government indicated in your letter.
    , these are, the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Army staff and the Chief of Air Force.
    “Further more we wish to raise a matter critical to our proposed meeting. Only two days ago, the Federal Government owned News Agency of Nigeria widely reported through the mass media, that during a visit to the Army headquarters by a certain group which was received by the Chief of Army Staff, our movement was attacked for engaging “social advocacy terrorism.” It is puzzling that the reported said Visit Happened less than forty eight hours before our movement received your letter asking us to travel in the company of the same Chief of Army Staff to Sambisa forest.
    “We demand therefore that ahead of the pre tour meeting, we have proposed herein, that the Chief of Army Staff retracts and apologizes for endorsing such slanderous attacks against our movement #BringBackOurGirls and specifically at some of our leaders.