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Tag: DAPCHI Girls

  • Dapchi girls’ release a great news – UNFPA

    The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has commended the Federal Government for securing the release of the abducted students of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.

    The UNFPA described the girls’ release as cheering news and a welcomed development.

    It offered to give psychosocial and reproductive healthcare support to the girls.

    In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, UNFPA congratulated the federal government, saying it is excited with the news that the girls have been released after weeks in captivity and uncertainty.

    “It is cherishing news to know that the girls will be returning to their families who have been waiting for their returns.

    “UNFPA is currently on ground in Yobe State, providing psychosocial counseling to the parents and families of the girls and on standby to support the Nigerian government to provide the comprehensive psychosocial support and other specialized services needed for the released girls.

    “Already staffs at a UNFPA supported health clinic are on standby to provide medical check-ups for the girls. We commend the government for this important achievement in helping to protect women and girls impacted by the conflict in North East Nigeria but remain deeply concerned for the thousands of women and children still held in captivity by Boko Haram. Greater efforts must be made to bring them all to safety and home to their families,” said the UNFPA Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Diene Keita.

     

     

     

  • UPDATED: 101 Dapchi girls released unconditionally, two died during abduction – Mohammed

    The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said on Wednesday said the abducted students of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, were released unconditionally.

    He stated this while speaking with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    At least 110 girls were abducted from their hostels by Boko Haram fighters on February 19.

    According to Mohammed, 101 girls were released along with one boy.

    He said two of the kidnapped girls died during the abduction.

    Members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) who were in the Council chamber for the weekly meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari were in high spirit over the girls’ release.

    They were discussing the issue in small groups before the meeting started.

    Mohammed said: “You see, all we can tell is what we got from our sources on ground. As things develop we will let you know. The girls were released unconditionally, no money changed hands. They only gave us one condition, that they will return them to where they picked them. So in the early hours of today (Wednesday), they did return the girls and most of them went to their parents homes.

    “As of now I can confirm that 91 girls and one boy have been released. The event is developing. Many of the girls that were released were not dropped in one place. Some were dropped on the road and they went back naturally to their parents’ houses.

    “They are now being asked to come for documentation at a center and as at five minutes ago, I was told 91 girls and boy had been documented.”

    On the boy that was released along with the girls, the minister added: “I can tell you that the report is authentic. Whether they picked the boy or not I can’t hazard any guess. But don’t forget even in a girl school, which is a boarding school there will be parents, there are teachers who can have children amongst them. But what I have been told is that 91 girls and one boy have been documented.”

    “On the issue of delegation,  I think we will clear that with relevant security authorities, it is not something I can talk about right now. We are constantly talking to those on ground. Don’t forget as of now that area has become an operational area and so we have to take advise from the security operatives on what to do.

    “What is important is that we must be able to brief you regularly on development and we are constantly in touch with authorities in Dapchi.

    “The report we got was that one condition the insurgents gave was that they will be the ones to drop the girls and they dropped them in the early hours of this morning.

    “Like I said in the statement released to you earlier, once violence and confrontation was ruled out and negotiation started, there was a deliberate pause on the part of the military, in other words it was agreed that there will be no force and there will be no confrontation. That was why it was possible for them to drop the girls.

    “It was part of the agreement that we will release the girls and there will be no violence or confrontation. And don’t forget that the lives of these children are much more important to us than any cheap victory.

    “If you remember, immediately this thing happened, Mr. President actually directed the security agencies especially the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to man every school. But you see we must look at this thing in context, if you look at other countries like the United States, particularly in Florida you saw how gunmen entered the school and killed about 17 pupils. Insurgency is a global issue and the government must always be on its toes.

    “One of the things we have done today is that we have tried to secure the schools and there are efforts on the part of government to even merge some schools, schools that are far flung.

    “As I speak to you now, the girls are in General Hospital in Dapchi and the counsellors are there with them. Just as we did when we had the first and second sets of released Chibok girls, they will be quarantined and psychologically counseled before they go back to their schools.

    “I want to guess the girls will meet Mr. President but I cannot say so. Things are still just developing.”

     

     

  • APC hails Dapchi girls’ return

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) said on Wednesday the safe return of abducted students of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, was a solid demonstration of the political will by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to ensure the safety of all Nigerians.

    The party assured Nigerians that the government is doing everything humanly possible to ensure the safe return of the remaining Chibok girls.

    The party said in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, in Abuja that if the last administration had demonstrated the same commitment when the Chibok school girls were abducted, they would have been rescued on time rather than allowing them to pass through several months of torture.

    The statement said the party was confident that reforms embarked upon by the current administration would improve the capacity and efficiency of the nation’s security agencies to prevent the kidnap of children by terrorists and diminish their ability to carry out attacks on soft targets.

    The statement reads: “The All Progressives Congress (APC) is extremely delighted with the news of the return of the school girls abducted from Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, by Boko Haram.

    “The prompt release of the Dapchi school girls is another solid demonstration of the political will of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration to secure the lives of all Nigerians.

    “With this prompt release of the Dapchi girls, the APC government has demonstrated how government should respond to such situations. If the immediate-past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration had responded with the similar alacrity, the Chibok school girls would have been released or rescued. Instead, the PDP wasted several weeks wallowing in denial and conspiracy theories such that it was now left for the APC government to rescue many of the girls and rehabilitate them.

    “We assure Nigerians that the current administration remains committed to securing the release of the remaining Chibok girls still held in captivity by Boko Haram and ultimately rehabilitate and reunite them with their families and loved ones.

    “The party is confident that reforms the government has embarked on would improve the capacity and efficiency of our security agencies to prevent the kidnap of children by terrorists and diminish their ability to carry out attacks on soft targets.”

     

  • Breaking: Dapchi girls reportedly released

    School girls recently kidnapped in Dapchi, Yobe State  may have been released by their captors who have reportedly returned them to the town.

    The leader of the parents of the missing girls told our reporter that he has been told of the release of the girls but was heading for the location to confirm the report.

    BBC’s Stephanie Hegarty  wrote on her twitter handle: Confirmed from several sources. Girls have been returned to Dapchi. Not clear if all 110 are there or not.

    Read Also: Freed Dapchi girls receiving treatment in hospital

     New media Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahamad confirmed the release in a tweet.

    “GREAT NEWS from Dapchi, Yobe State. Thank God for the safe return of our sisters. Alhamdulillah!“

  • We won’t rest until Chibok, Dapchi girls are rescued – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday assured parents of the abducted girls that he won’t rest until the last girl is freed from the Boko Haram captivity.

    The President, who spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting in Damaturu, Yobe State, reiterated his readiness to negotiate with Boko Haram on the release of  the abducted girls.

    He was in Yobe to commiserate with the state governor, Ibrahim Gaidam and the people of the state over the abduction of 110 girls from the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi.

    Buhari said: “There will be no rest until the last girl, whether from Chibok or Dapchi is released. The girls and all our students must enjoy unhindered freedom and pursue their legitimate aspirations. The Dapchi and Chibok students are our girls and must enjoy our protection. They must live to achieve their individual ambition to be great women of tomorrow. It is our duty to protect them and we are determined to restore peace to all parts of the country from the west to the east, north to the south.”

    The President, who described the abduction as careless, said “It is my hope that any agency, person or group found to have been negligent or culpable in the abduction of the girls will be punished according to the law.”

    He noted that with the renewed commitment of the Federal Government to exterminate terror and restore peace in all parts of the country, his government has sufficiently equipped the armed forces and “the outcomes have been good.”

    “Since the inception of this administration, we have remained resolute in our fight against terrorism and Boko Haram insurgents.  Nigerians will readily recall that prior to our coming in 2015, the situation was chaotic with violent attacks being the order of the day.

    “Terrorists had made life very unbearable for the people in Yobe, Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Niger, and even the FCT, Abuja.  Our mosques and churches witnessed daily suicide bomb attacks.  Parts of Adamawa and Borno States were helplessly ceded to the terrorists.

    “But today, we have so far shown clear determination in tackling terrorism which is a world -wide phenomenon. We have not only degraded the power and dominance of the criminal elements, our security forces have patriotically exhibited an uncommon zeal in executing their assignment.

    “We explored various strategies including regional and international collaborations to exterminate terror.  We have re-equipped our armed forces, security and intelligence services.  They are empowered with improved welfare and better equipment.  The outcomes have been good.  Our achievement in maintaining security is such that the international community and even our critics commend our modest efforts in this regards,” he added.

     

     

  • Photos: Buhari in Damaturu

    President Mohammadu Buhari arrived Damaturu in Yobe State on Wednesday to hold a town hall meeting with community and traditional leaders.

    According to Bashir Ahmad, the personal assistant to President Mohammadu Buhari on new media, the president, is set to meet with the Dapchi school girls’ parents later.

    Bashir made this known through a post on his official twitter account.

    Read Also: Tight security in Damaturu as Buhari visits Yobe

  • Falana to Buhari, sack those responsible for Dapchi girls

    •vows to sue for criminal negligence over girls

    An activist and Lagos based lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has demanded that President Muhammadu Buhari sack all those responsible for the abduction of the Dapchi school girls.

    Falana said that people responsible for the withdrawal of troops on ground and to whom security was handed over to should be sanctioned.

    Speaking yesterday in Abuja during members of the #BringBackOurGirls march to the Presidential villa to demand for the release of the Dapchi and Chibok school girls.

    He added that they will be going to court to demand for the search of both girls and demand that sanctions to be meted for the act of criminal negligence.

    His words, “Section 14 (2) of the constitution provides that the security and welfare of every citizen of Nigeria shall be the primary purpose of government. Secondly, Section 35 of the constitution guarantees the right to personal liberty. In other wors, no citizen of Nigeria can be abducted or detained illegally without a reaction from the government. So, that duty has been breached in the case of Chibok and Dapchi girls and why it is worse in this case is that having regard to the facts and circumstances of the developments in that part of the country, it is intolerable and unacceptable that the same manner of abduction took place. Are we being told that there was no security for those schools in the North-East region? And just like what happened in 2014, and if you recall I was appointed as part of a committee and I had to make it clear to the Jonathan government that I would not be part of the joke of setting up a panel after girls have been abducted. But why it is worse is that once you don’t punish impunity, you are going to have criminality repeated all over the place. Now we are being told that a committee has been set up by the same people to do what? It can only be to cover up.

    “So, if you want to challenge what has been done, we expect the government to have fired those who were responsible. Who withdrew the forces on the ground and to whom was security handed over to? An if nobody can provide answers, people have to be sanctioned. In other climes, these guys would have been put on trial. So, we are not just going to court to demand the search for the girls but to ask for sanction to be meted out for the act of criminal negligence .

    “The government has not given itself any benefit of doubt in the way it has gone about this matter. If you have a state governor who will not visit the scene of criminality as in this instance, what benefit of doubt are you talking about? I am sure you are aware that for the first time since 1960, Nigerians an foreigners who came here to ask for asylum were abducted and thrown out. We are saying the security and quality of life of Nigerians means nothing to our government. The President said in Benue yesterday to our utter chagrin that he did not know that his order on security was disobeyed by the IGP. And that may be the end of the matter. So, what benefit of doubt can we be talking about? So, our duty as citizens and as far as this movement is concerned is that we are going to court.”

    Members of the #BringBackOurGirls advocasy in a statement read out to Journalists at the Villa gate and signed by leaders of the group, Former Minister of Education Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Aisha Yesufu and Florence Ozor.

    The group stated that it is utterly shocked and disappointed that yet another terrorist abduction of schoolgirls is being alleged by the Federal government.

    They stated, “The #BringBackOurGirls movement is utterly shocked and disappointed that yet another terrorist abduction of schoolgirls is being alleged by the Federal Government to have taken place under its watch. How is that even possible? How terribly embarrassing it is that within four years since the abduction of 276 ChibokGirls in April 2014 our country is again in the news for tragic reasons. The abduction of 110 Secondary school girls of Government Girls Science and Technical Secondary School, Dapchi in Yobe State on February 19, 2018 is the worst form of a deja vu that our movement could have ever imagined at this time in our nearly four-year-old advocacy.

    “We have closely followed all publicly available events and statements since the attack of the school and the alleged capture of 110 students of GGSTSS by people that the Federal Government allege to be terrorists. We are devastated that another set of parents and our citizens more broadly are indeed factually reliving the tragedy of abduction of our #ChibokGirls four years ago.

    “We are infuriated at the exactness of the blunders that led to this latest abduction of 110 school girls in another state of the country with what happened when ChibokGirls were abducted in 2014. The magnitude of incompetence and carelessness of our Government enabled the repeat of the worst abduction tragedy. This is more so because in only a few days, it would be four years since the remaining 112 #ChibokGirls in captivity have been with their abductors. If the Federal Government of Nigeria is to be believed, 110 Dapchi School Girls have now joined our Chibok Girls in terrorist captivity.

    “Our movement is numbed by the rudest and unexpected shock that instead of the return of our remaining 112 ChibokGirls ahead of the possibly painful 4th anniversary of their abduction; we are now faced with the calamity of additional loss. This monumental scale of repeat tragedy of the abduction of 110 #DapchiGirls in circumstances entirely similar to that of our #ChibokGirls has compelled a period of deep contemplation by our movement. We have taken time to reflect on and identify the key factors that permit repeat patterns of non-consequential failure by various administrations in Nigeria to show care for the safety and security of our children and citizens more broadly.

    “While undergoing our period of reflection, our movement has generated a ratchet of disturbing questions for the Federal and Yobe State governments. Our questions are premised on the troubling sparseness of information so far provided on the #DapchiGirls tragedy by the Federal Government. We, #BringBackOurGirls movement, therefore advise the Federal and Yobe State Governments to be swift in responding to our following questions:

    “How was a terrorist group that the Federal Government has, over the last one year, and in fact only last week, informed the Nigerian Public “it has ‘completely defeated”; still able to successfully launch an attack and abduct 110 schoolgirls in their school without any counteraction by the Nigeria military? How? How? What happened to Early Warning Signal System as part of security architecture for areas like Dapchi in the theatre of war? We ask for #TheTruthAndNothingButTheTruth.

    “How could a school in northeast Nigeria – located in one of the three most terrorism-affected states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa – be so negligently abandoned without any form of security and surveillance and left vulnerable to the attack of February 19, 2018? What happened to the Safe School Initiative that was signed on by the Federal Government in 2014 and to which it committed $10million alongside other donations by the several donors, including the international community?

    “Why was there at first a denial of the abduction of our DapchiGirls by Officials of Government? Where and how did the falsehood that no abduction took place at the time of the attack originate thereby leaving enough time for the abductors to succeed in disappearing with 110 school girls? Why did this deliberate attempt at a cover up of a humongous tragedy happen at all?

    “Following on 3 above, what was the basis and source of the false information to parents and the public that about half of our 110 #DapchiGirls had been rescued and in military custody when the government knew it to be lie?

    “Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, is only 110km from Dapchi; so we wonder why the Governor, Ibrahim Geidam, failed to immediately travel to Dapchi for accurate information on the tragedy that occurred at the school? What prevented the Federal Government military and security teams within Dapchi area from acting swiftly?

    “On what basis, and at whose instruction, was the Military withdrawn from Dapchi, and to whom did they hand over? Where is the evidence of a handover and to which equivalent force was the responsibility given?

    “How was it that the terrorists carried out their activity for hours unchallenged by forces of the Federal Government? Can we not assume a connivance between the abductors and all those in the military and security command with responsibilities for the Dapchi, Yobe State area?

    “How was it that 110 children were transported in a convoy of vehicles for more than twenty four hours over distance of hundreds of kilometers without their abductors encountering any Nigerian Military or Police security roadblocks?

    “Why was there no air surveillance by the Nigeria Air Force which is still at the battle front? If any, how did the Nigerian Air Force fail to track the movement of the terrorists motorcade as they made away with our schoolgirls? What happened to the recently commissioned Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) said to have been procured for such tracking purpose? What happened to our Intelligence assets – satellite links and military aircrafts – that were procured to prevent and abort such scale of elaborate attack by terrorists?

    “Does the Federal Government fail to see how underwhelming its recent announcement of a committee to interrogate the Dapchi abduction is so much so that it only elicited tired yawns among members of the Nigerian public? What is the worth of a Committee of members of security establishments that failed to prevent the operation that led to the abduction of our DapchiGirls? Why is another committee necessary when the Federal Government has blatantly refused to publish or act on the reports of previous committees like the June 2014 General M. Sabo Presidential Committee on Abduction of ChibokGirls?  What happened to the committee announced on 14 January 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari to again look into the abduction of our #ChibokGirls? Has that Committee ever met? What were its findings?

    “Where is evidence of what constitutes a result-focused and sustained search and rescue operation by the Federal Government? Did the Federal Government not learn at all from the failures of its response to ChibokGirls abduction? Is there currently a multinational sustained search and rescue operation launched for our DapchiGirls by the Federal Government or will that wait until after the anodyne Committee it set up submits a report of its findings?

    “Have the Federal Government constituted a crack team to find and bring back our 112 ChibokGirls and their 110 DapchiGirls peers? Has the Federal Government sought the support of countries with superior intelligence and rescue assets? Again we ask, what should any reasonable person expect from the painfully familiar bureaucratic committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria that appears to be the only tangible measure the government has so far taken concerning DapchiGirls?

    “How does President Muhammadu Buhari justify the fact that only a few days after the abduction of 110 Dapchi school girls as a result of the gross negligence of his government, he was busy publicly politicking with his allies, seemingly giving priority to his re-election bid while 110 parents were wailing for their children? Was it that the President had not been informed of the tragedy at that time, or that there was hardly any concern for the fate of the abducted school girls as has been the case in all other tragedies that have happened under his watch?

    “When shall President Muhammadu Buhari address the parents of DapChiGirls and the Nigerian Public on the plans of his Federal Government to immediately bring back the missing school girls? When shall the President provide progress report on the plans of his government to bring back our remaining 112 ChibokGirls before April 14, 2014 which is the 4th anniversary of their abduction?

    “Finally, we suspect that there is a deliberate high level attempt to cover up the actions and inactions that led to the abduction of our 110 #DapchiGirls on the 19th February, 2018. We have seen the canvass and trail of contradictory statements and media spinning. So we ask the Federal Government why all these lies? Why is there so much falsehood around this tragedy? Why the cover up?

    “While we wait for the Federal Government’s response to our fourteen questions, our movement – #BringBackOurGirls – hereby issues a 7-day (one-week) notice to the Federal Government to without further delay BRING BACK  our 112 #ChibokGirls and 110 #DapchiGirls. Failure by the Federal Government to act immediately shall necessitate our legal actions for its criminal negligence that led to the recent abduction of our 110 DapchiGirls.

    “We have, in addition to this statement, written to the Federal and Yobe State governments demanding for answers to all our fourteen questions.

    “Our commitment to never stop demanding for the rescue of our girls and all other abducted citizens of Nigeria remains unwavering. We made a vow to stand for justice and of rescue of OUR girls, and we have stayed faithful to it for 1406 days today. We shall continue to do so until our girls all return to continue with their education. We shall never stop fighting for their cause, and that of other abductees. We urge all Nigerians to join our movement to #StandForDapchiGirls and to continue to demand that the Federal Government must #BringBackOurGirls until they, and our 112 ChibokGirls, are rescued.

    “When any Nigerian is endangered, we are all endangered. Yesterday’s survivors have proven to be today’s victims. We therefore count on the support of the Nigerian public to join our activities as they heighten over the coming days.”

     

     

  • Falana to Buhari: Sack those responsible for Dapchi girls’ abduction

    Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), on Tuesday asked President Muhammadu Buhari sack all those responsible for the abduction of students of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.

    The rights activist said people responsible for the withdrawal of troops on ground should be sanctioned.

    Falana stated these during the #BringBackOurGirls Group’s rally at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said: “Section 14 (2) of the Constitution provides that the security and welfare of every citizen of Nigeria shall be the primary purpose of government. Secondly, Section 35 of the Constitution guarantees the right to personal liberty. In other words, no citizen of Nigeria can be abducted or detained illegally without a reaction from the government. So, that duty has been breached in the case of Chibok and Dapchi girls and why it is worse in this case is that having regard to the facts and circumstances of the developments in that part of the country, it is intolerable and unacceptable that the same manner of abduction took place.

    “Are we being told that there was no security for those schools in the North East region? And just like what happened in 2014, and if you recall I was appointed as part of a committee and I had to make it clear to the Jonathan government that I would not be part of the joke of setting up a panel after girls have been abducted. But why it is worse is that once you don’t punish impunity, you are going to have criminality repeated all over the place. Now we are being told that a committee has been set up by the same people to do what? It can only be to cover up.

    “So, if you want to challenge what has been done, we expect the government to have fired those who were responsible. Who withdrew the forces on the ground and to whom was security handed over to?

    “And if nobody can provide answers, people have to be sanctioned. In other climes, these guys would have been put on trial. So, we are not just going to court to demand the search for the girls but to ask for sanction to be meted out for the act of criminal negligence.”

     

  • Video: U.S. to back 110 Dapchi girls’ rescue

    The United States yesterday promised to support the battle to rescue the 110 schoolgirls abducted by a faction of Boko Haram in Dapchi, Yobe State.

    Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who visited Nigeria as part of his week-long tour of Africa, stated this during a joint news conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs Geofrey Onyeama at the Presidential Vila.

    He met with President Buhari and had another session with Onyeama.

    Explaining the form of support they would give, Tillerson said: “First, we respect the responsibilities of the government of Nigeria and the territorial integrity of Nigeria. But the way we support is in providing them capacity with equipment and also training of the personnel of special operations and sharing intelligence to ensure that they have all the information available to carry out the recovery effort.

    “But I think it is also important to put this in a broad regional context as well, Boko Haram is a threat to other region and this has been the subject of my meetings elsewhere and in Africa as well.

    “In my discussion with President Derby in Chad earlier today (yesterday), we spoke about the threat of Boko Haram, it’s really been powerful, the collaboration between the joint task force which Nigeria is a part and Chad is a part, to respond to this threat of terrorism. Boko Haram is one of the threats that the leadership of this country has to deal with.

    “So the United States is ready to engage and coordinate efforts as well. We hope that something can be worked out and they can secure the release of these girls quickly.” During their meeting, President Buhari said Nigeria was being careful hence the government decided to choose negotiation rather than military option.

    The President said Nigeria preferred to have the schoolgirls abducted from Chibok and Dapchi back alive.

    A statement by Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted the President as saying that Nigeria was working in concert with international organizations and negotiators, to ensure that the girls were released unharmed by their captors.

    “We are trying to be careful. It is better to get our daughters back alive,” the President said.

    He thanked the U.S. for the assistance rendered in the fight against insurgency, noting that Nigerian forces are good, “but need assistance in the areas of training and equipment.”

    The President promised that his administration would continue to do its best to secure the country, adding that he would be in Yobe State, from where Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted, later this week “as part of my condolence and sympathy visits to areas where we have had unfortunate events.”

    He pledged free and fair polls in 2019 and recalled that the then American Secretary of State, John Kerry visited the country before the 2015 polls, “and he told the party in government then, and those of us in opposition, to behave ourselves, and we did.”

    Tilerson commended President Buhari on his strides in the anti-corruption war, to which the Nigerian leader responded that moneys recovered were being invested on development of infrastructure.

    Mr Tillerson said Nigeria was a very important country to the U.S. “You have our support in your challenges. We will also support opportunities to expand the economy, commercial investments, and peaceful polls in 2019

     

    Speaking further at the news conference, Tillerson said he warned African countries against Chinese loans not because he was seeking to stop Chinese investments from flowing to countries that need those investments,  “but what we are cautioning countries about is to look carefully, that the implications of the level of debts, the terms of the debts, and whether the arrangements around the local financing are in fact creating jobs, local capacity or the projects being carried out by foreign labour being brought to your country, is the structure of the financing such that you will always be in control of your infrastructure?

    “Are there mechanism to deal with the faults so that you do not lose ownership of your own assets? These are national assets whether there are ports, railways, or major highways.

    “We have seen this occurred in other countries that were not so careful and they got themselves in situation where they awfully  lost control of their infrastructure, lost the ownership.”

    https://soundcloud.com/thenationnewspaper/sets/us-pledges-special-operations-for-safe-return-of-dapchi-girls-others

    Onyeama insisted that Boko haram had been degraded. “We don’t by any way strength of imagination minimize those but it’s really a different kind of warfare as it is and the government is sparing no effort in addressing that. But it is a different challenge that requires intelligence and also understanding the environment that these kind of unlimited support for Boko Haram indoctrination of young children.

    “But as far as military classical threat, we have certainly degraded the capacity of Boko Haram to beat a classical retreat.”

    He faulted the claim that it took the government a week to acknowledge the Dapchi girls’ abduction.

    He said ” It is incorrect to say we took a week to acknowledge. It was acknowledged immediately everything was being done and we were strategizing.

  • Video: U.S ready to coordinate Dapchi girls’ rescue – Tillerson

    The United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, said on Monday America is ready to coordinate efforts to rescue the school girls abducted at the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, by suspected Boko Haram fighters.

    He said the U.S has been supporting every effort to tackle terrorism in Nigeria.

    Tillerson was answering questions from journalists after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said: “First, we respect the responsibilities of the government of Nigeria and the territorial integrity of Nigeria. But the way we support the fight against terrorism is by providing the troops with capability to handle equipment and also training of the personnel of special operations and sharing intelligence to ensure that they have all the information available to carry out the recovery effort.

    “But I think it is also important to put this in a broad regional context as well, Boko Haram is a threat to other regions and this has been the subject of my meetings elsewhere and in Africa as well.

    https://soundcloud.com/thenationnewspaper/sets/us-pledges-special-operations-for-safe-return-of-dapchi-girls-others

    “In my discussion with President Idris Deby in Chad earlier today, we spoke about the threat of Boko Haram and how to deal with the sect’s menace.

    “So the U.S is ready to engage and coordinate efforts as well. But we have been supporting, equipping, training and when we can provide information. I think that is the best way we have been helping the government of Nigeria secure the release of the girls, which we hope, will be done in a peaceful manner. We hope that something can be worked out and they can secure the release of these girls quickly.”

    He said the U.S is looking forward to free and fair elections in Nigeria next year.