Abducted Chibok girls sighted in Central Africa

There are robust indications that the terrorist sect, Boko Haram, might have moved among the over 200 schoolgirls it kidnapped from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State out of West Africa.

There had been studies on Friday that a number of the kidnapped schoolgirls have been seen in Birao, Central African Republic with armed males.  Birao is a small city within the north of the CAR.

The Islamic sect had kidnapped pupils of the college on April 14 and brought them into the forests alongside the Nigeria-Cameroon border.

Over 50 of the pupils escaped whereas being moved out of the college.

An on-line report by a French information medium,Jeune Afrique, on Friday, stated villagers noticed about 50 younger girls led by armed males within the North Central African Republic final week.

The report was translated into English by one of our correspondents.

The report says, “The Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram have passed through the northern CAR, escorted by armed men. Based on several testimonies of inhabitants, the women arrived Wednesday, April 30 aboard trucks.

“They were guarded by heavily armed men, who spoke English, and also members of the former (CAR) rebel Seleka.”

Seleka is an alliance of Islamic insurgent militia factions that overthrew the Central African Republic authorities early last year and put in their leader as president. The group which has reportedly carried out a number of executions, rape and looting break up final yr with Christian and Muslim factions terrorising the CAR, forcing France to ship extra troops to the area.

The French newspaper added that natives of Birao have been afraid to approach the kidnapped girls.

“According to our source, the convoy of two trucks and a pickup was previously seen at Tiroungoulou (about 170 kilometres southwest of Birao) and perhaps Chad.

“Upon arrival, some were frightened, cried and were violently rebuked in English. The girls and their guardians were then housed for several days in a house.

“The group reportedly left the scene on the night of Sunday to Monday, May 4 to 5, without a trace,” the report said.

Barely 24 hours after President Goodluck Jonathan stated no group had claimed accountability for the kidnapping of the pupils, Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed accountability for the kidnapping.

Shekau, whereas claiming accountability for the seizure of the ladies in a video, threatened to sell  the kidnapped ladies.  “I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah,” he said.

Earlier, there have been stories that the ladies had been taken to neighbouring Cameroon and Chad.

The Cameroonian authorities nonetheless faulted experiences that among the youngsters had been married off within the nation.

Cameroon’s Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakari, was quoted as saying he was shocked by accusations that Cameroon was not collaborating with Nigeria to free the ladies from their captors.

“We insist that allegations from Nigeria that a part of the 200 young female students recently kidnapped in the North-East of Nigeria would have been transferred to Cameroon to be forced into marriage to members of the Boko Haram sect are fully unfounded.

“Cameroon will never ever serve as a support base for destabilisation activities towards other countries,” he was quoted as saying.

The Unites States, Britain, France and China have, nevertheless, expressed their readiness to help Nigeria in rescuing the ladies. The US and British army personnel and hardware arrived within the nation between Thursday and Friday.

One of our correspondents in Abuja additionally gathered that the Federal Government would engage Israel within the search for the kidnapped girls.

SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that the Federal Government and Israeli authorities had held a series of meetings since the girls were abducted on April 14.

A security source said on Friday that the collaborative efforts between Israel and Nigeria on the issue of terrorism and insurgency had been ongoing for some time.

The source who pleaded anonymity said, “The issue of collaboration with Israeli and other countries did not start now, a lot of meetings have been held on insurgency.”

When contacted on Friday, the Press Officer of the Israeli Embassy in Nigeria, Mr. Tony Obiechina, said the embassy had closed for the day and could not respond to the issue.

He said, “We have closed. I will have to meet with the ambassador on Monday to see if there is any information on your request.”

Abducted Chibok girls sighted in Central Africa