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Tag: Goodluck Jonathan

  • Jonathan commiserates with family

    Jonathan commiserates with family

    President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed shock over the death of retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa.

    In a statement last night in Abuja by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President said the retired justice would always be remembered.

    The statement reads: “On behalf of himself, the Federal Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President extends sincere condolences to the eminent jurist’s family, relatives, associates and friends.

    “As they mourn the passage of the retired Justice of the Supreme Court, who will always be remembered, among other career highlights, for his celebrated chairmanship of Nigeria’s Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission 14 years ago, President Jonathan urges them to be comforted by the knowledge that Justice Oputa lived a long, very fulfilled and achievement-laden life.

    “The President believes Justice Oputa will always be honoured now and in posterity for having served the nation as a most distinguished and courageous jurist who made very significant and indelible contributions to the advancement of Nigerian jurisprudence.”

    Dr Jonathan expressed confidence that even though Justice Oputa has now left the world of the living, he will be long remembered for his spirited legal activism and continue to serve as a splendid role model for present and future generations of Nigerian judges.

    He prayed God Almighty to receive Justice Oputa’s soul and grant him a well-deserved rest for his diligent and exemplary labours on earth.

  • Abducted girls: Presidency, Borno in cold war

    Abducted girls: Presidency, Borno in cold war

    •Borno govt tackles First Lady

    A cold war is brewing between the Presidency and the Borno State Government as a fallout of the April 15 invasion of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok by Boko Haram insurgents who abducted 276 students of the school in the process.

    The ‘war’ stems from misgivings by the Presidency about what it sees as the mishandling of the matter by the state government.

    It believes that the state authorities are playing politics with the girls’ abduction, a situation that prompted President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday to set up a 26-man ‘fact-finding’ panel on the raid.

    A few hours after the constitution of the panel, the First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan met with some women in Abuja and gave the state government a three-day ultimatum to find the girls.

    She threatened to lead protests in Maiduguri and Abuja if the students are not found by today.

    The State Government yesterday denied the insinuation that it is playing politics with the fate of the girls.

    It accused Mrs. Jonathan of instigating people against it with her planned protests.

    The Nation gathered that several allegations were levelled at the state government at Friday’s security meeting with some military chiefs faulting the handling of the situation by the Maiduguri government.

    Some of the allegations   are: reeling out conflicting figures on the abducted girls; suspected inflation of the figures of the missing girls; refusal to publish the names and photographs of the girls; hiding information from the public that the school is the mixed type at the time of the abduction; operating school   when others were closed in the state; complicity in the abduction of the girls; sponsoring   stories that the girls have been married off to terrorists at N2,000 each; and playing politics with the abduction to avoid a declaration of total emergency in the state by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    A highly-placed source said: “The Presidency believes that the Borno State Government has been feeding the public with half-truths since the abduction thing started. You can see how the figures have been changing.

    “For instance, security agencies discovered that the Principal was in Maiduguri on the night of the abduction contrary to her narration of what happened on April 14.

    “Nigerians should ask why the state did not tell us that the school was a mixed type when the insurgents invaded it.

    “The Presidency is worried that up till now, none of the 53 girls who either escaped or not abducted, has been presented to the public by the state government for Nigerians to hear their side or experience.

    “We are also concerned that they have not released the names and photographs of the missing girls.”

    The source said the state government has also been denigrating the military.

    However, a Borno State Government official, who spoke in confidence, said the Federal Government is under immense pressure over the girls and it is looking for a scapegoat.

    The official said the Federal Government is bringing unnecessary politics into the abduction saga in order to heap the blame on Borno State.

    He said the state would be vindicated when the Presidential fact finding committee completes its work.

    The official gave a synopsis of all issues raised by the Presidency on the abduction of the girls.

    He said: “The school is established and known to be Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok as a mainly girls school but sometime last year, stakeholders of Chibok made a pressing request that a make shift arrangement be made to accommodate their male children since the school was big enough to accommodate more students.

    “The stakeholders request was because their sons, who were schooling in other parts of the state that turned out to be unsafe, were idle at home .

    “And because Chibok was very safe, the parents demanded that rather than sitting at home, their sons be allowed to also be in that school. The Governor reluctantly accepted that a temporary structure be put in place while he preferred that where necessary a new school be built for the boys while the girls be allowed in their school given the fact that the school was established mainly as a female school with all its policies and programs designed as such.”

    The source said that the state’s Ministry of education identified schools that were considered safe and students from other schools were secretly collapsed   so they could take their exams.

    Government felt that if the students did not sit for the exam, they would end up losing one year.

    The decision was thus taken but without the public knowing so that terrorists might not go after them.

    Continuing, the source said:”The GGSS Chibok was considered one of the safest schools; it was opened like some others in Uba, Askira, Maiduguri, Biu, Gwoza and some others. In that school, attacked in Chibok, students from schools in Izge, Warabe, Lassa and Ashiga-Shiya were all collapsed in one place and they were quietly writing their exams until that unfortunate attack of Tuesday, 14th of April, 2014.

    “One other thing that should be said is that, initially, the Governor had insisted that all the final year students be moved to schools in Maiduguri and Biu but stakeholders from some of the areas, particularly in Chibok and Uba protested.

    “The Governor had several meetings with the community members of Chibok including traditional rulers, parents, the chairman of the council, the member of the state assembly representing Chibok and opinion leaders, they insisted that their children be allowed to remain in Chibok was actually safe.

    “At a point they asked the Governor what would happen if their children were attacked in Maiduguri or Biu, it was at that point he acceded to their request. The truth is that the collapse of students from other schools in Chibok as was done in other parts of the State was a major reason there is a mix up in the number of missing girls.

    “The Government found itself at a difficult situation. This is probably why the Governor was not saying much about the school. One interesting thing is that the Boko Haram only targeted the girls’ hostel which was a permanent structure there and that is why only girls were abducted. The boys stay in a make shift hostel because the Government plans to relocate them, even on the school sign post, what is written there is Government Girls Secondary School.”

    The source added that after that attack, students of the school in Chibok were collapsed in another school in Uba which already had other students from Askira.

    “Then on the issue of WAEC telling the First Lady that 530 persons registered for the exam, amongst them 180 males and 189 now at Uba . First, there was never a time the Borno State Government announced that 234 girls were abducted.

    “The Governor personally announced 129 and all the media reported it, it was after he visited the school that it was discovered that parents registered over 200 missing.”

    The official faulted the argument that the Borno Government could have staged the abduction to show that the emergency has failed with a view to making a case for ending the state of emergency.

    “The Borno State Government shoulders 90 percent of funding the military activities including paying rewards for intelligence which the military collects.

    “There is simply no way the Federal Government will succeed in shifting blame to the State Government which seems to be the plan here. The FG is under immense pressure and they are looking for a scapegoat.

    “The Police Commissioner and the State Director of SS in Borno State did a joint press conference after their investigation and they pointed to the fact as was reported on Friday that students were collapsed in some schools for the purpose of exams. They even said over 276 students were actually missing based on their own investigation.

    “We heard that the First Lady is trying to incite people to protest against the State Government and that is rather too childish and unnecessary since a fact finding committee has been set up unless if she is saying that the committee’s report is ready before the committee’s inauguration on Tuesday.”

    On the issue of the State Government ýrefusal to publish names and photos of the schoolgirls, the official said “The government has no lawful mandate of making such publication to declare anyone missing; only the police have that lawful mandate, perhaps the military also since we are still under a state of emergency.”

    “Also, there are elements of religion and family background in a data that when you expose you complicate things for the girls. We just didn’t want to act stupidly and illegally otherwise we have the names and pictures. But as I speak with you, the Police and the SSS have the data of the missing girls, they are professionals, they can decide what to do.”

  • 276 abducted girls: Jonathan invites Borno governor, others

    276 abducted girls: Jonathan invites Borno governor, others

    •Why fact-finding panel was raised
    •Security agencies discover male students in strange school
    •Security agencies may grill principal in Abuja

    PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan is seeking additional information on the April 15 raid of Government Girls Secondry School, Chibok, Borno State by terrorists.

    He met Governor Kashim Shettima last night in Abuja on the situation.

    Also at the meeting were the Commissioner for Education, Mr. Musa Kubo and the Principal of the school, Asabe Kwabura.

    About 276 students of the school were abducted during the raid with 53 of them said to have escaped from their captors.

    It is understood that the Principal might undergo a fresh grilling by security agencies in Abuja.

    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Chibok may also be quizzed by security agencies.

    Sources also shed light on why President Jonathan raised the 26-man fact-finding panel announced on Friday.

    The committee, headed by a former boss of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, Brigadier General Ibrahim Sabo, it was learnt, came into being   following irreconcilable gaps in the findings of security agencies and documents retrieved from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) about the school.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the president and a few security chiefs are likely to interact with the governor on the abduction and what has been done to rescue the girls.

    It was gathered that the presidency might use the opportunity to sort out a few things with the governor.

    A source familiar with the matter said that the invitation was based on “security brief at the president’s disposal on the abduction of the girls.”

    He added: “We hope they will be able to harmonise records on the abducted girls so that the nation can move forward. The international dimension of the abduction saga has made it imperative for the two leaders to meet.”

    On the invitation of the school’s principal, another source said: “Security chiefs will still meet with the two officials to clarify some grey areas.”

    Sources also said that the president opted for a fact-finding panel on the abduction following some gaps in the findings of the military and security agencies.

    These gaps include, which were considered by the Security Council on Friday, include the following:

    •   The controversy or dispute surrounding the actual figure of students in the school at the time of the abduction;

    •   The discovery of male students in the school when the insurgents struck;

    •   The revelation that students from many schools had converged on Chibok from neighbouring villages;

    •   The alleged presence of the school principal in Maiduguri when the incident happened;

    •   Inability of security agencies to obtain the dossiers of the students to date

    •   The submission made by the West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC), organizers of the examination being taken by the victims to the Presidency

    •   Alleged continuation of the School Certificate Examinations by some students after the abduction

    A third source said: “It has reached a level where the presidency must explore all options. This reality made the government to raise the 26-man committee.

    “The international dimension has caused collateral damage to the nation, especially the military. Now, it is time to lay all cards on the table. This is why we want a UN representative to be in the committee.

    “The presidency is suspecting some politics by some vested interests although it has no cause to disagree with Borno State Governor. The presence of some former public figures at solidarity rallies for the abducted girls hurt the government. So, the panel has been constituted to consider all angles to the saga.”

    Government is also said to be worried about the presence of some boys in the school prior to the Boko Haram raid.

    “Until Friday, no one knew that there were boys in the Girls’ Secondary School when the abduction took place. How come the boys were not aware of the abduction? We also need to take the census of students and their parents to be able to know the exact number of girls missing.

    “WAEC has submitted the dossiers of students who registered for the SSCE in Chibok and surrounding villages. We need to find out whether some of these students have returned home or not.”

     

  • Nigeria’s police democracy and the Adamawa affair

    Nigeria’s police democracy and the Adamawa affair

    EVEN though President Goodluck Jonathan has finally bowed to opposition and public pressure to shelve his (campaign) visit to Adamawa State, the fallouts from the aborted visit are still reverberating in democratic circles all over the country. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state had apparently been denied use of the commodious Ribadu Square in the state capital, Yola. Unhappy about the denial, the party had complained loudly and even made oblique reference to a breakdown of law and order if the denial was not rescinded. The state government, claiming it had nothing to do with the refusal, suggested that the square had a management committee running it, which should be blamed. Mercifully, everyone was saved embarrassment.

    However, the response of the police to the controversy while it lasted leaves much to be desired. The state’s police commissioner, John Abakasang, wrote an impertinent letter to the governor forcefully suggesting he reverse the denial. In tone, the letter was riling and patronising. Hear him: “…Our state is fragile and we must do all it takes to maintain its relative peace…Your Excellency, you have been known to be a man of peace and not otherwise, these steps (reversal of denial) were necessary so that disgruntled elements do not take advantage of the denial to throw the state into chaos…We believe that the refusal to allow some groups of people the use of the venue for lawful activities and granting approval to other groups to use the same venue could pose more tension than making the venue available for use by every group.”

    A few days later, the IGP, Mohammed Abubakar, also warned politicians to desist from making inflammatory statements capable of worsening terrorism. But it was clear he was referring to the letter written by Adamawa governor, Murtala Nyako, to northern governors alleging genocide against the Jonathan government. The IGP and his men, it is obvious, believe their loyalty is to the president and not to the constitution. This is why they often carry on in the tradition of former military governments talking down to the political class, rather than working in the background, advising the state governments and pre-empting crime. Had they focused more on their constitutional duties rather than imposing on governors and summoning them for dressing down at will, perhaps the anti-terror war would have achieved some success, and crime would be under control.

  • Presbyterian Prelate condemns terror attacks

    Presbyterian Prelate condemns terror attacks

    THE Prelate and Moderator of the General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, the Most Reverend Emele Mba Uka, has described the increasing wave of Boko Haram terror attacks in the country as heinous, barbaric and inhuman .

    He expressed concern that various efforts by government to check the activities of the group have been largely unsuccessful.

    Reacting to Thursday’s bomb blast at Nyanya near Abuja which claimed 19 lives, Professor Uka asked President Goodluck Jonathan to seek global assistance, particularly in the areas of intelligence and combat action to deal with the situation.

  • Second Niger Bridge: Fed Govt assures of timely completion

    Second Niger Bridge: Fed Govt assures of timely completion

    The Federal Government has assured that the Second Niger Bridge will be completed on schedule.

    It debunked speculation that work has been suspended following non-compliance with environmental laws.

    A statement by the Federal Ministry of Works, said: “Contrary to reports, work on the Second River Niger Bridge continues according to schedule.

    ‘’We will ensure a timely completion of the bridge, which is being executed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement for a concessionaire period of 25 years through the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) model.

    “The ministry is working with the Julius Berger-NSIA Motorways Investment Company (JB-NMIC) Consortium, the preferred bidder, to ensure the timely execution of the project.

    “In fact, under an Early Works Arrangement, the nominated EPC contractor, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, has commenced full mobilisation to site and timely execution of scheduled activities is anticipated. The JB-NMIC Consortium has assured that compliance with environmental laws is a priority and that Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) is an intrinsic part of the Early Works, which is being carried out in compliance with environmental laws.”

    The statement said it was emphasised at the ground-breaking ceremony that the project was part of the transformation agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

    It again assured the people of the Southeast and Nigerias of the Federal Government’s resolve to actualise the Second Niger Bridge.’’

  • Jonathan sacks political adviser Gulak

    Jonathan sacks political adviser Gulak

    •Jubilation in Adamawa

    President Goodluck Jonathan sacked yesterday his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak.

    The government announced his sack in a three-paragraph statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.

    No reason was given for the termination of the appointment.

    The statement reads: “President Goodluck Jonathan has terminated the appointment of his Special Adviser (Political), Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, with immediate effect.

    “President Jonathan thanks Alhaji Gulak for his services to the present administration and wishes him success in his future endeavours.

    “A replacement for Alhaji Gulak will be announced in due course.”

    There was jubilation last night in Adamawa State over the sack of Gulak.

    Scores of residents in Yola, the state capital, and Gulak, the home town of the sacked aide, said Gulak deserved the boot because of his lack of political valour to the President.

    Governor Murtala Nyako said he sympathised with the sacked presidential aide.

    The governor noted that it was a lesson for Gulak and others like him that it is always good to avoid “political rascality”.

    Nyako said he was uncomfortable with the reported jubilation by the people of Gulak in Madagali Local Government Area.

    The governor hoped that Gulak would have learnt a lesson from the transient nature of power.

    Nyako, who spoke through his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Mallam Ahmad I. Sajoh, regretted that Gulak was supposed to be an adviser to the President but became the self-made spokesman of the Presidency, insulting and vilifying elderly people he perceived to be the President’s enemies.

    “But today, the real presidential spokesman has spoken by showing the exit route to him (Gulak) unceremoniously,” Nyako said.

    The governor described the people’s celebration of Gulak’s removal as a pity and a lesson to those in the corridors of power.

    Some politicians told our reporter last night in Yola that the Presidency did the right thing because the sack of Gulak would reduce the number of those overheating the polity.

  • And Jonathan wept

    And Jonathan wept

    It looked like a classic case of raw emotionalism as President Goodluck Jonathan, ironically, made what may be considered an insensitive statement in connection with the death of Capt. Yusuf Sabo Sambo, who was Vice President Namadi Sambo’s immediate younger brother. The late Capt. Sambo, aged 58, died in a car accident in Abuja on April 27. Reports said his car ran into a tree and burst into flames; and that he was survived by his wife, three daughters and 10 siblings. Really sad!

    He was described as a seasoned pilot who had worked for the former Nigerian Airways and the Presidential Air Fleet. According to Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Malam Umar Sani, who announced his death, “He has since been buried at the Apo cemetery, Abuja, according to Islamic rites. He was buried in the presence of former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and several other dignitaries and sympathisers.”

    Perhaps expectedly, Jonathan, accompanied by his wife, Patience, showed up at the vice president’s official residence, Akinola Aguda House, to offer his condolences. Not surprisingly, he said all the soothing words, stressing particularly that “death is a journey everybody must make.” Sounding like a priest at a funeral service, he added, “We are all mere mortals. All of us are from the Earth; we must all go back to the Earth. We do not know the timing of this journey all of us must make. This world is a place where we come to play our different roles. He (Yusuf) left too early. Maybe he left when the ovation is loudest. He left at a time we needed him most. But there is nothing we can do.”

    However, it was certainly unexpected of Jonathan to introduce thoughtlessly exaggerated language in the context. He was quoted as saying that the day Capt. Sambo died was one of the saddest days for the country. It was a good example of a vacuous utterance, and it is easy to imagine that many Nigerians, faced with such information, are likely to be confused, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.

    Surely, Jonathan could have expressed his sorrow without sounding tragically theatrical. His unguarded statement, not to call it ridiculous, can be effortlessly identified for what it is, particularly against the background of the horrendous incidents of April 14 and 15. Nigerians most likely regard those days as by far sadder for the country, and incomparable with Capt. Sambo’s exit.

    Specifically, those dates refer to the Boko Haram bombing of Nyanya Motor Park in the federal capital, Abuja, which consumed at least 75 lives and injured 164 people; and the Islamist group’s   abduction of over 200 students at the Girls Senior Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, most of them still missing. Sadly, in both instances, Jonathan did not speak of these evident tragedies, which were unmistakably of greater social significance, in such superlative terms as he did in the case of Capt. Sambo’s death.

    The president’s absurd expression at the vice president’s residence showed how not to weep.

  • Whose content?

    Whose content?

    • The local content law gets its litmus test between Samsung and local firm LADOL

    NO nation’s economy can beat its chest if it brandishes high numbers but lags behind in the most vital statistics: the welfare of its citizens. And no welfare metric impresses like the job profile. And one of the government policies that tend to ensure that we have jobs here is the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan on April 22, 2010.

    The clamour for this law had rung up for more than a decade in the oil and gas industry because it is the main pie of Nigeria. Foreign firms had swarmed into the country and restricted job opportunities to their nationals. So we had the oil but they had the jobs, and it cost us not only the opportunity for our citizens to enjoy what they owned. It also foreclosed the possibility of allowing the interested locals from training and acquiring skills that would open access to lucrative jobs.

    The law is about to be tested in the courts with a Nigerian firm, Lagos Offshore Logistics, that has sued a South Korean firm and shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries. What is at stake is not whether it is good business for LADOL or bad business for Samsung. We want it to be good law for Nigerians. It is a good law for Nigerians if Nigerians enjoy the benefits.

    But according to news reports, Samsung secured a $3.1 billion contract to construct a floating production storage offshore vessel for the highly valued, multi-billion dollar Engina deepwater oil field development that generates an output of 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day. The South Korean company could not have secured it without partnering with a local company because of the 2010 local content law. That was when LADOL came into the picture after Samsung visited its facilities in Takwa Bay in Lagos in 2010.

    Both companies allegedly worked together to batten down agreements, including a memorandum of agreements. The agreement also compelled big investment from Samsung to the tune of $214 million, and LADOL also had to fulfill its own obligations in the contract.

    It seemed all was well with both sides in their relationships between 2010 and 2013 when they presented their proposal to the Nigerian authorities, including the minister of petroleum, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Nigerian Ports Authority. But once the deal was done, Samsung allegedly dumped its Nigerian partner and decided to relocate the site for its fabrication and integration in South Korea. This makes mincemeat of the Nigerian law and deprives Nigerians of tens of thousands of jobs.

    It must be noted that work had begun at the LADOL site prior to the approval by the Nigerian authorities. This was abruptly abandoned. We sniff a Machiavellian cynicism in the Samsung move and a disregard to local concern, which is supposed to be priority in any country that comes to Nigeria to do business.

    The concept of the Engina oil field is to make it the biggest in West Africa and to operate as the central hub of the sub region. This is a matter that does not only have a nationalist flavour. It is a matter of justice and fair play.

    The significance of this story also lies in the fact that it is a guinea pig tussle. It will show the way for how local firms and their foreign partners will do business. Eventually it will demonstrate whether the law gives more jobs to Nigerians, train them and bolster Nigeria’s claim to its own patrimony: oil. So, it is a tussle for Nigerian content.

  • Protesters to Jonathan: we want abducted girls back

    Protesters to Jonathan: we want abducted girls back

    Scores march on Fashola’s office

    Chibok elders: Fed Govt has failed us

    Presidency may opt for dialogue

    Scores of indigenes of Kibaku, a community in Chibok, the troubled Borno State town where 234 school girls were abducted by Boko Haram, marched yesterday on Lagos Governor Babatunde Fashola’s office.
    The protesters, including women and children, under the aegis of the Lagos State chapter of Chibok Youth Association, pleaded with Fashola to pass on their grievances to President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State. They should ensure the safe return of the abducted girls, the angry crowd said.
    The leader of the group, Mr. Yahaya Chiwar, said the decision to take their grievances to the governor was due to his outstanding track record in securing lives and property of residents of the state.
    Chiwar said the group was worried that 13 days after the girls were abducted, there had been no news from the government concerning their safety or any chance of their being rescued.
    He added that what was more alarming was that after the parents of the abducted girls searched the Sambisa forest, they located the camp where the insurgents were holding the girls and immediately reported to the appropriate authorities, but were dismayed when no action was taken.
    “Our parents had no choice than to come back home to inform the security authorities where the girls were been kept, but Your Excellency, their parents communicated with us yesterday (Sunday) and there is no information whatsoever that these girls have been rescued or at the process of being rescued.
    “Therefore, we as their brothers and we have sisters in Diaspora, we have resolved that we cannot remain silent; we are here because of your commitment to security of lives and properties in the state. We believe the nearest authority to us is you, who is not only the Chief Executive of the State, we believe we can express our grievances to you and you can forward our grievances to the relevant authorities, particularly to President Jonathan.”
    Presenting a letter to Fashola for onward transmission to President Goodluck Jonathan, Chiwar said: “We believe that you will help us to ensure that our voice will be heard.”
    Fashola, in an emotional voice, praised members of the Chibok Youth Association for their courage and selflessness to stand for their daughters and sisters who were unfortunate victims of the nation’s porous security system.
    He condemned the abduction of the girls, describing it as a clear act of hostage-taking, which is unthinkable and dehumanising.
    “One can only imagine the kind of horror and grief the parents of these girls must be feeling, I am a parent myself and I understand it. If my children are ill, I know the kind of frustration, fear and anxiety that I go through when they are ill, not to mention indescribable emotion that the parents of these girls are going through to know whether they are alive and where they are and what conditions they might be in. even the girls themselves, the kind of fear, it must be a traumatic experience for everyone involved”.
    Fashola, however, cautioned the protesters against nursing the thought that nothing was being done to rescue the girls, saying that it is likely that the authorities might be careful not to take steps that would harm the girls in the process of trying to rescue them.
    He encouraged the parents not to lose hope on the safe return of their children.
    Fashola promised to deliver the letter to President Goodluck Jonathan before the close of work on Monday.
    The presidency is weighing its options on how to rescue the abducted girls by Boko Haram gunmen, The Nation learnt yesterday.
    On the cards is a non-violent option, which will require asking some clerics and Northerners respected by the sect to prevail on its leadership to release the girls.
    There are fears that an outright military onslaught may lead to a high casualty.
    But for the death of his brother, Vice-President Namadi Sambo would have started consultations with some would-be mediators. Sambo’s younger brother, Yusuf, a pilot, died on Sunday in a road accident in Abuja.
    Some of those listed for intervention were said to be excited last night because of their “deep concerns” for the girls.
    “Even within Chibok, intelligence report indicated that some of those who abducted the girls were known to the locals. Therefore, there is possibility that the sect has a network base in the area where the school is located,” a source said, adding:
    “What the government is thinking is how to engage every citizen capable of assisting to rescue the girls. This is one of the options.
    “Some of those who can facilitate link with Boko Haram are already being consulted.”
    Replying to a question, the source added: “The ongoing collaboration with some neighbouring countries and intelligence sharing with international organisations is also another option.”
    Another source, who spoke in confidence, said: “I think the non-violent option might be explored because where the girls are kept is heavily fortified.
    “If the troops storm the place with their fury, it will lead to a lot of things, including tragic losses. At the end of the day, the target of rescuing the girls would not be achieved.”
    Contacted last night, the Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade said: “The search for the school girls is still on. For operational reasons, we cannot give the details.”