""How would you feel if your sisters were kidnapped"" Malala queries Boko Haram

ABUJA—The Pakistani girl child education campaigner, Malala Yousafzai, has called on Boko Haram to release the schoolgirls who were abducted on April 14, saying the girls have not committed any crime.

Malala, who is in the country to commemorate Malala Day yesterday in Abuja, urged the sect to stop the shedding of blood and misuse of the name of Islam.

She also wondered how the sect would feel if those girls kidnapped were their sisters, adding “I want to tell Boko Haram, think about your own sisters; just think for a while; think about your own sisters. If they suffer too the same brutal and harsh situation, how would you feel?

“If your own sisters are homeless, if they are around the captivity of someone who is so wild and cruel, how would you feel? Those who are under your imprisonment are like your sisters. Islam gives a message of brotherhood. We are all sisters and brothers.

“You are misusing the name of Islam, but you hang your Quran there. You hear that Islam gives a message of brotherhood; that we are all sisters and brothers and that we should respect each other and the language that we speak.

“I request you to lay down your weapons; release our sisters. Release my sisters and release the daughters of this nation. Let them be free; they have committed no crime.”

Malala, who is in Nigeria on the commemoration of her 17th birthday, told journalists during a briefing after meeting President Jonathan that the President promised her that he would meet with the parents of the abducted girls and ensure that they are returned home safely.

Briefing journalists alongside the President’s spokesperson, Reuben Abati; her dad, Ziauddin Yousafzai; and the Director of Operations of Malala Foundation, Eason Jordan, the Pakistani teenager said she was in Nigeria to support girls’ education and advocate the release of the Chibok girls.

She said she met with parents of some of the girls the previous day and they had expressed the longing to meet with the President and anybody who can help them find their girls.

“I am here in Nigeria on my 17th birthday for a price which is to see that every child goes to school,” Malala said.

“This year, my objective is to speak up for my Nigerian sisters. About 200 of them who are under the abduction of Boko Haram and I met President Goodluck Jonathan for this purpose.

“I convey the voice of my sisters who are out of school or who are still under the abduction of Boko Haram. And for those girls who escaped from the abduction but still do not have education.

“And in the meeting, I highlighted the same issues which the girls and their parents told me in the past two days.

“The parents said they really want to meet with the President to share their stories with him. And I asked the President if he wants to meet with the parents of the girls. He assured me that he would meet with them.”

FG’s programmes

At the briefing, Mr. Abati said the President used the opportunity of the meeting to take Malala through some of the programmes being carried out by the Federal Government.

He mentioned the Presidential Initiative for the North-East, an economic recovery programme that the government had embarked upon with the collaboration of state governments in the North-East; and the Safe School Initiative which has already been launched with an initial $10 million fund.

He added that President Jonathan emphasised his commitment to making sure that schools are safe, every child enjoys the right to education and that that right is no way violated by anyone.

Mr. Abati said the president also announced that he would this week launch the Victims Support Fund for victims of terror and a committee will be set up in partnership with state governments, civil society, and other stakeholders.

 

Viewed 1 times
""How would you feel if your sisters were kidnapped"" Malala queries Boko Haram

Obasanjo is lying about Chibok girls - Presidency

The presidency yesterday dismissed claims by the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo that he was awaiting the approval of President Goodluck Jonathan to negotiate with Boko Haram members on the possible release of the secondary school girls abducted in Chibok more than a month ago saying that if the former president was serious, he would have formally informed the federal government of his efforts.

Jonathan and Obasanjo

Former President Obasanjo has repeatedly claimed that he was in touch with the abductors of the Chibok girls and could negotiate their release if he gets the go ahead of the president.

But in an interview with Vanguard yesterday, a senior official of government said the former president was not sincere in his claim as he has restricted it to the media.

The official who insisted that he remains anonymous because he is not authorized to speak on the matter noted that what the former president is doing ‘amounts to grandstanding’ in order to portray a ‘messianic image among Nigerians’.

“It is obvious that what the former president is doing is just for media attention and there is no sincerity in it. The former president has unfettered access to the president. Why has he not sought an appointment with him to discuss the issue? Why should the former president resort to the media on such a weighty issue? This is mere grandstanding” the source said.

He added: “if the federal government has accepted the offer of assistance from other world leaders to rescue the chibok girls, will it turn down an offer of assistance from a former president of this country? The president is committed to getting the girls back and anybody that can assist in achieving that will be welcome.

“To show you that former president Obasanjo is not sincere” the source added, “president Jonathan recently summoned a meeting of former heads of state recently to discuss the Chibok girls abduction, all of them except Obasanjo attended. Even General Babangida who did not attend because he was bereaved sent in his inputs. Why did he not attend the meeting of the former heads of state with the president and the governor of Borno state? Is that a hallmark of somebody who is sincere?” the source queried.

Meanwhile, the Presidential fact finding committee on the abduction of the Chibok Girls may submit its report today.

It would be recalled that President Jonathan inaugurated the Fact Finding Committee chaired by Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo on the 16th May, 2014 to among other things liaise with the Borno State Government and establish the circumstances leading to the School remaining open for boarding students when other schools were closed; to liaise with relevant authorities and the parents of the missing girls to ‎establish the actual number and identities of the girls abducted; and to interface with the Security Services and Borno State Government ‎to ascertain how many of the missing girls have returned.  (Vanguard)

 

Viewed 1 times
Obasanjo is lying about Chibok girls - Presidency

Negotiate with Boko Haram - Mike Ozekhome tells Federal Government

By Ehi Ekhator, Naija Center News.

Human rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, who was kidnapped in Edo State some months back has advised the Federal Government of Nigeria to go into dialogue with the Boko Haram sect in order to bring back the girls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, in April 14.

Mike Ozekhome

In a Statement made available, Mike Ozekhome, a member of the ongoing National Conference, reminded the Federal Government of its role to ensure the security and welfare of the citizenry in Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution.

He said:  “The controversy over whether or not the Federal Government should negotiate with Boko Haram with a view to releasing the abducted Chibok Secondary School girls, is nauseating and demeaning of our humanity, to say the least.

“Let it be made clear that the security and welfare of Nigerians are the primary purpose of government (Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution).

”It is unthinkable that some people would want the lives of these innocent future leaders of Nigeria to be wasted on the altar of government grand-standing and engagement niceties. There are times when a government stoops to conquer.

Recalling that former US President, Mr. J.F. Kennedy, once promulgated the concept of negotiation, Ozekhome said Nigeria could not continue to experience the orgy of bloodletting which had claimed over 12, 000 lives amid wanton destruction of schools, churches and mosques.

”It was J.F. Kennedy, former American President, who once declared that we should never fail to negotiate, just as we should never negotiate out of fear. Negotiating with Boko Haram will not amount to negotiating out of fear.

“It is simply an irritating sacrifice to be made to justify the sanctity of the lives of these young, innocent souls. I dare say that the Federal Government should negotiate even with Satan, if that would bring back our girls. Even Satan would be humbled and diminished by such an unprecedented strategy.

”Recall that part of the main brief of the Turaki Committee was to negotiate with the Boko Haram group, an offer it had imperiously rejected. Now that the same Boko Haram has thrown up the “Olive branch,” for that is what it clearly is, the Federal Government should seize it, and make gains out of it.

”It affords a golden opportunity, not only to negotiate the release of the Chibok girls, but to holistically   negotiate amnesty and halting of the horrific insurgency and bloodletting that have claimed over 12, 000 lives and wanton destruction of houses, Schools, Churches, Mosques, public buildings, bus stops, etc.

”The Federal Government should, for once, think of the trepidation, unease, cries, tension, suspense, psychological trauma and mental torture, that the abduction of these children is causing their parents, teachers, siblings, friends and loved ones.” (VG/NCN)

 

Negotiate with Boko Haram - Mike Ozekhome tells Federal Government

Minister, WAEC never warned against conducting exam at Chibok – Borno SSG

Borno State Government, SSG, Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda, has faulted claim by the National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Adamu Ahmed Muazu, that both the Minister of State for education and the WAEC, had written to the governor not to allow exams go on in Chibok, but that the governor insisted.

Speaking with journalists in Lagos yesterday, Jidda, who showed the reporters the purported letters from both the minister and WAEC, challenged Muazu to produce the letters which asked the state government not to conduct exams at Chibok.

The SSG showed the reporters the letter the state government wrote to the Police, asking it to provide security on daily basis, to all exam centres, including the school in Chibok, based on the request made by WAEC.

He said, “there was no where in the letters where they asked us not to conduct exams in Chibok. In any case, the minister does not even have the locus standi to direct the governor on such matters.

We provided logistics as requested by WAEC. We wrote the Police too, to provide security on daily basis, as per the request from WAEC.

“But let me reiterate here that at no time did we receive any letter either from the police, WAEC or even the minister, advising us not to hold the exams in Chibok. At any rate, as at the time of the exams, Chibok was considered as one of the safest locations in the state.

“In actual fact, the minister’s letter only asked that security be provided for WAEC officials in Federal Government Colleges in Borno State. The letter did not request that security be provided for students, let alone Chibok students. So, I see Muazu’s claim as not only ridiculous, but one that smacks of mischief”, the SSG, added.

On the claim by Muazu that the governor was not in the country at the time Jonathan was to visit Chibok, Jidda again said, it was not true.

He said: “The governor went to London for a different purpose and not just to grant interviews. However, as soon as we got information that the President was on his way to France, and would make a stop over in Chibok, my governor cut short his trip to return to Borno. And while we were waiting to receive the President, we got the information that the President’s visit has been called off.”

 

Minister, WAEC never warned against conducting exam at Chibok – Borno SSG

#Bringbackourgirls: Presidency, US slam Defence Chief over leakage of abducted girls location

BY SONI DANIEL & UDUMA KALU, with agency report

ABUJA—The United States said, yesterday, that it does not have information to support the claim by the Nigerian military that it knows the whereabouts of the more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshall Alex Badeh said on Monday that the military knew the location of the schoolgirls, abducted by the Boko Haram Islamic sect on April 14.

Badeh’s claim has also reportedly incurred the wrath of the Presidency.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, yesterday, that, “we don’t have independent information from the United States to support that statement. We, as a matter of policy and for the girls’ safety and wellbeing, would not discuss publicly this sort of information regardless.”

Five U.S. and European security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they had no credible information on the location of the girls and were skeptical that the Nigerian government knew where they were. The five officials said the United States and some European allies had provided technical intelligence, including information from spy aircraft and satellites, to Nigerian authorities, who lack such intelligence capabilities.

But the officials said that as far as they knew, technical intelligence systems had not produced precise or credible information establishing the girls’ location.

The five officials said that if the Nigerians had obtained such information from informants on the ground, it has not been shared with U.S. and allied agencies.

One impediment to finding the girls, the officials said, was that since their abduction, they had been divided into small groups. Boko Haram is also believed to be hiding them in densely forested terrain where it would be hard for modern technical intelligence systems to gather information.

Presidency angry with CDS

Meanwhile, Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, has reportedly incurred the wrath of the Presidency over his claim that the military has sighted the 270 schoolgirls seized from their dormitories in Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram terrorists last month.

President Jonathan, it was learnt last night, was unhappy with the claim by the defence chief, which he considered as a breach of military tactics capable of hindering the move to free the children, who have been in the kidnappers’ den since last month.

Meanwhile, Air Marshal Badeh declared, yesterday, that the military was now fighting a bigger battle with the international terrorist organisation known as Al Qaeda with networks in North and West Africa, noting that the ongoing counter terrorism and counter insurgency war has gone beyond Boko Haram

A top Presidency source told Vanguard last night that Jonathan considered the CDS’ claim on the missing schoolgirls as an unnecessary outburst, which could frustrate ongoing efforts by the multinational team currently in the country to rescue the girls.

Counter-productive

The source, which did not want to be quoted, said President Jonathan was still at a loss as to why Badeh made the statement at a time he was expected to be more cautious over the contentious issue, which is generating interest across the globe.

“Indeed the President is really upset over the claim and we do not know what will happen,” the source said but did not give further details.

 

#Bringbackourgirls: Presidency, US slam Defence Chief over leakage of abducted girls location

Amaechi casts blame on FG over Chibok girls abduction

• Amaechi blames Nigerians for voting PDP into power

By Ehi Ekhator

Rivers Stae governor, Rotimi Amaechi

Goernor Rotimi Amaechi has said out of worry, that the girls abducted in Chibok by the dreaded Boko Haram members are still missing till date, put the blame of the abduction on the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and President Jonathan.

Amaechi disclosed this while addressing children and other members of the public at an interdenominational church service to mark the 2014 Children’s Day that took place at the Alfred Diete Stiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt, yesterday.

Governor Amaechi also cast his blame on Nigerians who he said voted the wrong party into power, he stressed that change can only come in the country if PDP is voted out in 2015 general election.

He said:  “The blame is on us; your parents and those of us who are in government. We owe you the responsibility of safety; we owe you the responsibility of good education so that you can become for us the future parents when we depart this world.

“All of us are guilty of this crime because in 2011, we went and voted for this government. So, we are responsible for the kidnap of Chibok school children, because we chose the government; you chose me and you chose the president. If, therefore, you are not able to protect the Chibok girls, then, all of us, especially the government in power, should be held responsible for the lives of the children of Chibok.”

Amaechi added that the incident in the country occured because God is trying to use it to expose the corruption in the country. He attacked the PDP for being after his political affairs instead of paying proper attention to the problems the country is facing, particularly that of the 200 abducted girls.

He said  “I have said it before; God is tired of Nigeria, and now is the opportunity to choose another government. Chibok girls are over 200. You heard they killed 310 the next week near Chibok; what did we do? They are killing every day. People are losing their children, losing their parents every day. They went to Yobe State, burnt the whole school and killed children. What did we do?

“ It means that you and I must rise up and ask for change today, including the children, to demand for a better government, to demand for accountability, to ask why Chibok girls were kidnapped and PDP was celebrating in Kano. All of us are guilty of the crime against Chibok girls, not the president. The president or PDP is guilty because it is in power and they are supposed to protect you and I; but, you and I are not protected. But, we are guilty of choosing them.” However, the governor further urged Nigerians to continue praying for safe release of the girls, explaining that  reason his State decided to mark this year’s Children’s Day celebration with a solemn assembly, is  to enable them  share in the pains of the victims and their parents. ENDS

Amaechi casts blame on FG over Chibok girls abduction

We Know Where Chibok Girls Are Kept - Military.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, has said the security leadership in the country has located where members of Boko Haram are holding the abducted girls of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, who were kidnapped on April 14.

Badeh also said the military would not use force to release the girls because of the need to prevent the insurgents from killing them.

The number one military personality in the country spoke while receiving a solidarity rally organised by the Citizens Initiative for Security Awareness, led by its National Coordinator, Mr. Chidi Omeze, outside the Defence Headquarters, Abuja on Monday.

Badeh said the military had the capacity to bring back the abducted girls but would not use force for the crucial assignment.

He stressed that the military knew what it was doing and should be allowed to continue with its work.

The CDS said the military would not go and get the girls killed in the guise of bringing them back.

He stated, “We want our girls back,; we want our girls back; we can do it, our military can do it but where they are held, can we go with force?

“If we go with force, what will happen? (they will kill them). So nobody should come and say the Nigerian military does not know what it is doing. We know what we are doing, we can’t go and kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back. So we are working.

“The good news for the girls is that we know where they are but we cannot tell you, we cannot come and tell you military secrets here. Just leave us alone, we are working, we would get the girls back.”

However, the CDS was silent on the meaning of his declaration that the military would not use force to release the abducted girls when prodded by journalists.

We Know Where Chibok Girls Are Kept - Military.

How last minute order from Jonathan stopped swap of Boko Haram members for Chibok girls

President Goodluck Jonathan nearly struck a deal with members of the Boko Haram sect for the release of over 200 abducted schoolgirls taken away on April 14, but for a change of mind at the eleventh hour.

UK Mail reported at the weekend that the Nigerian leader backed out of the deal after his peers at the recent summit in Paris, capital city of France, sternly warned him of the dangers of such move.

According to them, captive-students of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno state can be rescued through force by combined local and foreign security forces,

But the cancellation is said to have enraged Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau and now puts the girls’ lives in greater danger.

An intelligence source told The Mail on Sunday says “the next video we may see from the terrorists could show the girls being killed one by one.”

Shekau, DailyPost gathered, had agreed to bring the girls out of their forest camps in the remote north-east of the country in the early morning and take them to a safe location for the prisoner swap.

“They would have been dropped off in a village, one group at a time, and left there while their kidnappers disappear. There was to be a signal to a mediator at another location to bring in the prisoners,” the source said.

Although, about 2,000 Boko Haram members are currently detained, one hundred non-combatant, low-level sympathisers were to be freed.

The two groups were to be brought together in a convoy of buses accompanied by a handpicked facilitator trusted by the government and the sect.

The Mediator

His name is Ahmad Salkida. Born in the north-eastern state of Borno, he has known its leaders all his life and has unprecedented access.

Salkida started journalism in 2001, reporting for several media organizations in Nigeria. However, his exclusive reports on the insurgency in the Boko Haram militant group made him an enemy of the state.

He has been arrested on several occasions accused of being a Boko Haram fanatic. Concerned about his safety, he fled with his family to Dubai two years ago.

But a fortnight ago, he was invited by aides of President Jonathan, to help save the government further embarrassment occasioned by the abduction. The incident led to the persistent #BringBackOurGirls worldwide campaign

Salkida initially feared arrest on arrival in the country, but was given a ‘Letter of Indemnity’ personally signed by the Mr. Jonathan.

Sources told The Mail that the journalist was able to travel by taxi to the group’s forest camp to talk to Shekau two weeks ago.

“His mission was secretive and dangerous. He is probably the only civilian with access to Shekau. There is trust between them and Salkida had only one aim – to get the schoolgirls out,” they said.

“He reported afterwards that the group of girls he saw were alive and well, and being adequately fed and sheltered. They told him all they wanted was to go home.”

As it stands, Salkida’s spirited but brave effort, albeit complicated by officials pronouncements about negotiations with the sect, may have been jeopardized by the government’s abrupt back out.

Reacting to the report, presidential spokesman Reuben Abati on Sunday said: “I am not aware of an attempted rescue plan taking place last week.”

How last minute order from Jonathan stopped swap of Boko Haram members for Chibok girls

Facts: Chibok teachers locked students in and ran away - Parents cry

By Ndahi Marama, Chibok

FEAR of the known pervades any mention of Chibok. It is gripping, unspoken fear, with expected consequences that when I piled inside a bus for the 130-kilometre drive to uncertainty, the only thing I knew was that death could be a part of the trip.

I dared not tell anyone I was going to Chibok. How could I have mentioned that I would embark on a journey that included travelling beside the dreaded Sambisa Forest? What was I searching for in Chibok where fear is life and insurgents could strike at anytime?

Monday was the best day to make the trip. It was Damboa Market Day. It meant that traffic on the risky Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu Road would be busy with many heading to the market. There was assurance that the heavy traffic could deter the attackers, it was a thin hope, but where fear rules, one holds to any strains of hope.

Chibok shows early signs of its bareness. The road from Damboa, where I boarded a taxi to Chibok, is barely motorable. Seven of us squeezed into the small car, three in front, four at the back seat. Nobody appeared to care about the discomfort. We arrived Chibok at 12:25 pm due to the heavy security checks on the way. They checked all parts of the car. Each check point bore its own nightmare. With stories of people in uniform turning insurgents, one could never tell whether it was a check point or a death point.

As we passed by Sambisa Forest, I knew all I needed to cause a scare was to ask the driver to stop. Who else could make such a request? I pondered the idea but discarded it, there were already enough risks on this journey to think up more. I was even grateful the vehicle passed there without an incident.

Everyone kept his thoughts to himself throughout the journey. Everyone seemed to suspect that the other could be an insurgent. If one of us was, and intended to attack the vehicle, how would we know?

Security in Chibok was heavier. Whole area remained deserted as parents and relations of the abducted school girls were indoors mourning their calamity. Chibok is draped in fear and mourning that would not disperse until the kidnapped students return.

Hunger Looms In Chibok

Chibok, a farming community runs the risk of hunger. People are not going to the farms for two reasons – they are mourning their missing daughters and fears of further attacks persist. Their neighbours in Damboa were attacked at home and then in their farms. They too have stopped farming. Where would their food come from without farming this year?

The journey to infamy started for Chibok on 14 April when some gunmen attacked a government secondary school occupied by girls who were writing their West Africa Examination Council examinations. Details of how they were taken vary from who is telling the stories, which no longer interest the parents.

All they want is to have their children back.

Mallam Chiroma Usman Chibok, seven of his relations were abducted said, “My brother, Chibok is a shadow of itself as most parents stay indoors to mourn their abducted children. Government is not helping matters. We keep getting assurance our abducted would be girls.

“It is the farming season, but nobody is going to the farm. The trauma is too much for us.”

Mr. James Yama said, “We are suffering in silence, one of my brothers, Mr. Mutai Hona, whose two daughters were among those abducted, died last Sunday from heart attack. He developed high blood pressure after the abduction.”

‘We Want Our Girls, Not Relief’

“It will interest you to note that on Sunday, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA came to Chibok to distribute relief materials to the victims, but none of the parents collected even soap. They protested to NEMA officials that they want their abducted daughters back. Those who benefited from the relief materials were people whose daughters were not among the abducted,” Mr. Yama said. “If we had seen the corpses of our girls, we would have forgotten about them. We do not know what is happening, it is unfortunate”. #BringBackOurGirls

‘Our Daughters Were In Government Custody’

Mrs. Saratu Pagu Mdurmbula, mother of one of abducted girls said, “Our daughters were at school writing their final year examinations. We believed our daughters were in the custody of the state government being a public school.

They were not abducted from our homes, but from the school. It is unfortunate that after abducting our innocent daughters, government and security operatives are yet to rescue them. We are disappointed. It is not one school girl, but over 200 of them. It would be more appreciated if security agencies rescued our daughters. We were fed up with stories about our daughters, the trauma is increasing”.

‘Teachers Abandoned Our Girls To Terrorists’

Simon Watila, the father of Godiya, one of the girls who escaped from the Sambisa Games Reserve camp of the sect, said he was out of town during the incident, but immediately called his daughter and she told him the school was safe.

“I called this my daughter in the school, asking where she was. She told me she was in the hostel. I told her they were attacking the town, they have started burning houses.

“I asked if soldiers were with them in school. She said no. I asked about the police she said they were no policemen, but that the school was safe.

“The insurgents were still attacking the town. My daughter told me all the teachers had left; there were no guardians with them.

“It was in the realisation that there was no one guiding the school that I told my daughter to run if she had the opportunity. I told her the insurgents would turn to them when they finish with the people in the town.

“When the shooting started in the town, the teachers were still with them but they took to their heels, and locked our daughters . There are teachers’ quarters within the school premises, the teachers left before the attack.

“She even told me that the teachers instructed them not to run away. One of the teachers locked the gate, there was no way for our daughters to escape. When the attackers finished with the town, they came to the school.

“They told the girls they were soldiers and the girls believed them because they were in uniform. They promised to protect the girls from the insurgents who were attacking town. The girls happily came out to them and they seized all their mobile phones. I knew my daughter was in trouble when I called and she was not taking the call. The next day I learnt our daughters were abducted.”

He was happy that God answered his prayers for the return of his daughter. If there were enough soldiers around, he said, girls would not have been abducted.

Why Chibok Girls Don’t Speak English

People have been concerned that the abducted girls did not communicate in English, in the interviews they granted. They mostly spoke in Hausa. Over 95 per cent of students in public schools in the State cannot express themselves in English, although, their written English is reportedly better.

Some reasons were adduced for the situation, the major one being the poor standard of education and the quality of teachers in public schools across the state. Teaching Service Board officials tend to favour their kinsmen over qualified applicants.

Most teachers in the rural areas and the students prefer speaking their own dialect either in the classrooms or during school hours, making English language secondary.

Governor Kashim Shettima admitted in an interview that, “In 2011 WAEC examinations, only three students at one of the government secondary schools in Northern Borno Senatorial District had five credits, including mathematics and English language. The Three students were not from the State as their fathers were serving soldiers at Monguno Military Barracks”.

The Chibok girls reflected the quality of teachers in public schools in Borno State. Chibok, a local government headquarter, has only one secondary school, which also serves people from neighbouring local government areas. Recently, the school, which used to be only for girls, was converted to a mixed school, admitting male students as non-residents.

Who’s To Blame

A teacher in the school, Mr. Amos Dawi said, “Apart from the poor quality of teaching materials and unqualified teachers, the students themselves are not helping matters, as most of them devote their interest to farming.

“Chibok and other schools in the state have no English or Mathematics teachers. Rarely would students from JSS I to SS III have these teachers throughout their stay in school. In fact, most of these students are not taught English properly from year one to their final year”. An educationist, Dr. James John attributed the problem to lack of training and retraining of teachers by the Borno State Teaching Service Board. The board does not organise workshops for its teachers, especially those in rural areas.

Yakubu Iliya, a student, blamed the teachers. “Where the teachers are qualified, they do not take their work serious because ministry officials hardly supervise them. Most teachers prefer being posted to schools in Maiduguri. The unqualified ones are posted to rural areas, where they abandon their profession for farming and businesses”.

‘We Don’t Want To Speak English’

One of the freed schoolgirls, who did not give her name, for security reasons explained their dilemma in the matter. “Another major reason we are not speaking English is the trauma we are undergoing. It is not because we cannot speak English. Each time we want to speak English to journalists, we feel the terrorists are still watching us, so we quickly switch to Hausa, which is our dominant language in the North without realising it. Only those who have been through what we suffered can understand this. Boko Haram hates anything to do with Western education and the ability to speak the English language is an indication to them that one has Western education”.

We’re Expecting Mr. President

Yaga Yarakawa spoke on his disappointment on President Goodluck Jonathan’ s widely publicised visit to Chibok, which was postponed, though the Presidency had denied that a visit was planned.

“We were happy when we heard Mr. President was coming to Chibok. We expected his visit to Chibok would bring relief to everybody. When the girls were abducted, we thought government would act swiftly, but it is unfortunate that after a month, their whereabouts remain unknown.

“It is really sad, disheartening and disappointing to all of us as parents. This is beyond politics, it is between life and death, so we want our girls and that is what we are after at this trying moment, nothing else”.

Shettima Sheds Tears Again

Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima shed tears again on Tuesday as he told the Presidential Fact Finding Committee on the abduction, in Maiduguri, that doubts over the abduction of the Chibok school girls and the theory that the kidnap was staged-managed by his government was as painful as the actual abduction.

The governor said it was a sad tale that Nigeria pays more emphasis on politics than finding solutions to the nation’s numerous problems.

Responding to the address of the Chairman Brig, Gen. Ibrahim Sabo (rtd), Shettima said, “Borno has seen evil times. Our people have suffered. The Chibok incident, for me, has grossly exposed our weighty weakness as leaders in terms of assuming our shared responsibilities.

“Doubts over that abduction pained me far more than the childish theory that as Government, we staged that abduction in order to create basis to stop the extension of emergency rule in Borno.

“Then, there was the issue of saying Chibok was not safe and we went ahead to open the school. Majority of these students are from Chibok axis, if the school was considered unsafe, I don’t think any right thinking parent would allow his or her child to study in an atmosphere of high risk.

“To every other Muslim, worldwide, these men that kill, destroy and abduct, insult Islam by calling themselves Muslims. They have contradicted every single tenet of the Islamic religion. They have in some cases, tried to change the ordained translation of verses in the Holy Quran.

“To every Muslim, a verse of the Holy Quran has clearly said that there is no compulsion in religion. But to these men of violence, there is compulsion not only in religion but even in Islamic ideology. To these men, any human who doesn’t share their ideology deserves to be brutally killed. A Muslim that is of not of the sect is condemned to death and so is Christian. To them, the human race should go into extinction for their doctrine to thrive.”

The governor had approved N150 million for the rehabilitation of the 53 girls who escaped, and for assistance to the traumatised parents whose daughters were still held.

“Unfortunately, we had to hold what we should have done for Chibok because of the politics brought in. If we had released some material support earlier, some bad elements would have said we tried to buy the people of Chibok.

“The Borno State Government is committed to sincere and active collaboration with the Federal Government and all other support groups in our collective fight against insurgency.

“I see misconception about those behind the insurgency as one major hindrance to fighting it. So long we continue to look the wrong way, there would be lack of focus on the part of most stakeholders and in which case, the victims would remain the accused.”

Earlier, Brig. Gen. Sabo assured that the committee was ready to carry on with the task with absolute patriotism and fear of God. He condoled the people and government of Borno state who have been traumatised as a result of the attacks.

Back To Base

By sunset, Chibok residents abandon every activity to seek refuge in their homes. I left Chibok at 2:15 pm, to a repeat of the security checks that marked the earlier journey, through the same route. I arrived Maiduguri at 5:30 pm to joy that I never knew I could muster. I heaved a sigh of relief, having gone through the most dangerous route in Nigeria and survived the trauma of anticipating an attack that never came.

As I went on my knees to thank God Almighty for seeing me through this assignment, I realised that another trip to Chibok would be necessary – hopefully in happier circumstances, to welcome the girls.

Facts: Chibok teachers locked students in and ran away - Parents cry

Was Chibok abducted girl texting in captivity?

There is a picture extracted from the video released by the alleged leader of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents the last time, where he threatened to sell the girls into slavery and marry the older ones out.

The girls in the video were seen reciting Quran, according to information, the girls were under duress.

The governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima agreed to have known the location shown on the video, and Boko Haram senator, Senator Zannah also confirmed the same thing, saying that the location was somewhere in Sambisa forest.

Meanwhile, a closer look at the picture, judging from the photo extracted shows that some of the girls head were not covered as it was made believe on the video.

Another picture revealed that a certain girl was operating a device. A thing that looks like mp3 player or a mobile phone, while another girl was caught praying christian-like.

The abduction of the more than 200 girls has attracted serious criticism on the part of the Federal government who the world accused as incompetent coupled with the daily lash from Nigerians who have lost hope in those they thought could protect them.

It could be recalled that during the meeting called by the wife of the President, Patience Jonathan, the director of WAEC openly said he wrote to Borno State government to relocate the girls due to insecurity problem but refused, instead threatened that if he didn’t conduct the exams, the world would blame him.

It could also be recalled that Nigerians reacted over the arrest of Naomi, the leader of the protesters who was arrested after the meeting with President Jonathan’s wife despite the fact that, she bridged the security by lying to be Grace and claiming to be one of the mothers of the abducted girls.

A former leader of Niger Delta militant, Asari-Dokubo has accused the Borno State governor of orchestrating the abduction, adding that he knows where they. He stressed that Chibok abduction is a scam.

It could also be recalled that an islamic cleric in Chibok revealed from the video of the abducted girls that the hijab they were wearing cost up to N4,000. This revelation also created another impression that the girls were okay until the further extract of the pictures have added to the believe that the girls might be having a good time somewhere and that the abduction might just be to ridicule the Federal Government.

The federal government also claimed that there was an order to close down school in the areas that were mostly affected by the insurgents, and during investigation, it was revealed that Governor Shettima promised to provide security for the students writing exams.

Despite the deployment made by the US, UK, CHINA to rescue the girls allegely abducted, with aircraft flying the air in search of the girls, no vital information has been found. But in the video, the location was exposed, it didn’t look like much of a forest, it seems there was a gate behind and a house not too far. There are indications that the abduction might be MAKE BELIEVE afterall.

To be continue……………….

What’s your take on this?

Was Chibok abducted girl texting in captivity?

Abducted girls: Asari Dokubo is a jester - Shettima replies

By Ehi Ekhator

The executive governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima has said that he would not trade words with a joker like the ex-Niger Delta Militant, Asari-Dokubo who said that the governor knows where the abducted girls are.

Shettima spoke through his spokesman, Isa Gusau yesterday.

Shettima

The spokesperson responding to some media report quoting Dokubo  alleged accusation on the person of Shettima and his party that the abducted girls in Chibok  were staged, and what he referred to as a political scam to scandalise the name of President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of 2015 elections.

Gusau said“Governor Shettima is too serious minded to reply Asari Dokubo who is just a joker as most Nigerians regard him. As a onetime  journalist covering the Niger Delta I had come in direct contact with ‎Asari when he organised a rally in support of late Gaddafi in Port Harcourt and also when he organised the 2011/2012 Isaac Boro lecture in Port Harcourt which he kept interrupting, taking over the microphone from peole like respected lawyers like Festus Keyamo, intermittently speaking without protocol and without shame like a child.

“He is just a joke,no reasonable Nigerian takes him serious. He was reported saying Chibok abduction was a sham, I won’t be surprised if by next week the same Asari Dokubo leads another rally to counter the one he just held. Last year, Asari was reported speaking against Presidency, then he changed tune now we don’t know what happened but that is how he is, he uses the media for personal interest and some sort of blackmail.

Dokubo

“He wants to be regarded as a hero but I tell you that no one sees him as such in thhe Niger Delta that I had covered.

“He is trying to force unwilling public to see him different from who he is but like a say goes, ‘you can fool some people all the time, you can fool all the people sometime but you cannot fool all the people all the time’. Asari dubiously took advantage of Isaac Boro event which attracts participants to make say what he said so that the procession would seem like a support bases for his isolated opinion.

“I saw some pictures of some girls in one house displaying some placards, from the faces, I think he probably assembled some of his immediate and extended family members and gave them placards.

“One person wrote on all the cards, the same writing, all of which look like a sort of Mickey Mouse scene in cartoon series.

“How can Governor Shettima reply a jester, how can he respond to such a play by Asari that falls far below the standard of Nollywood when he is busy working very hard with all relevant bodies finding ways on how to secure the freedom of his and Borno’s precious daughters in captivity?.

Gasau added that Asari Dokubo is one of the negative influence creating bad impression on the Presidency, adding that  “earlier the Presidency distances itself from Asari, the quicker his childish views don’t do further damage to those he tries to please”.

The abduction of the students of Chibok has attracted a lot of criticism on the Presidency and Dokubo has stood his ground that the abduction was orchestrated by the governor of Borno State and his political party, to discredit the Presidency in order to stop him from re-contesting.

Dokubo stressed that, no girls are missing but a complete scam, accusing the governor of knowing the whereabouts of the girls shown on the video by the leader of Boko Haram, Shekau.

Abducted girls: Asari Dokubo is a jester - Shettima replies

Boko Haram writes school, plots fresh abductions

We need schoolboys to wed Chibok girls–Sect

Thirty-four days after the fundamentalist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, abducted over 200 schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, it has threatened to kidnap more pupils.

The United States of America, France, Britain, Israel and Canada are among the foreign countries that have pledged to help Nigeria find the schoolgirls that were kidnapped by Boko Haram on April 14.

The pupils were kidnapped in the night and their hostels were burnt. However, while Boko Haram transported them in trucks to its Sambisa Forest stronghold, over 50 of the schoolgirls escaped from the sect.

There have been reports that some of the girls have been seen being moved out of Nigeria. Other reports have said the girls were seen in the northern parts of the Central African Republic where an Islamic militia, Seleka, holds sway.

Last week, the leader of the sect, Abubakar Shekau, in a video asked for the release of Boko Haram detainees in exchange for the pupils. The Federal Government turned down the request.

On Saturday, the Principal of Government College, Makurdi, Mr. Godfrey Ugudu, revealed that the school had received letters from Boko Haram threatening to attack the school.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ugudu, who announced this at a news conference in Makurdi, added that the school received two letters which had the same content on May 14.

“It is true that we saw two letters informing us of the intention of the sect to invade our school on Friday or Monday by Boko Haram.

“The letters were dated May 14, 2014. The sect stated that they were coming on either of the two days to abduct our boys whom they would marry to the secondary school girls abducted in Chibok.”

The school principal added that in the letter, Boko Haram also threatened to arrest another nearby school.

“In the letter, we were asked to inform the Mount Saint Gabriel Secondary School opposite us to also get prepared as they promised to invade the school too.

“We immediately alerted the police and the commissioner for education. A report has been made to the governor on the issue.

“The two letters, which were written in pidgin English, were sighted inside one of the classrooms and the second one was slipped into the staff room,” he said.

The principal commended the government and security operatives in the state for their prompt response to the issue.

He said measures had been put in place to ensure the safety of the school children, adding that he had informed the Principal of Mount Saint Gabriel.

NAN reports that about 500 out of about 700 students of the college are living in the school while Mount Saint Gabriel is purely a boarding school.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Dan Ezeala, confirmed the report adding that police were on top of the situation.

When SUNDAY PUNCH contacted the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade, he asked our correspondent to speak to the police and the school authorities.

“I think you should talk to the police and the schools. The security agencies are in the states are supposed to be operating,” he said.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, could not be reached for comments as calls made to his phone failed to connect. A text message sent to his phone was not responded to as of the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, the drones and other surveillance aircraft deployed by the US government to search for the over 200 abducted pupils have yet to locate them.

While promising to intensify efforts to find the schoolgirls, US Defence Secretary, Chuk Hagel, told the Cable Network News, that the pupils had not been seen.

“I have seen no intelligence come back that I am aware of that shows that we’ve located those girls,” he reportedly said on Wednesday.

This came amid reports that the US would not share intelligence data with Nigeria.

Pentagon spokesman, Col. Steve Warren, was quoted to have said the US was disposed to sharing commercial satellite imagery with Nigeria, but not raw military data.

“At this point, we are not sharing raw intelligence data,” Warren said. He did not give reasons for this. But the US is known not to share intelligence with governments its officials adjudge to be careless with intelligence information.

Efforts by SUNDAY PUNCH to find out if there had been any new development did not yield results.

The Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy, Sani Mohammed, on Friday asked our correspondent to send his question via email, but as of the time this report was filed, he had yet to reply to the mail.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Information Centre, Mr. Mike Omeri, has told one of our correspondents that Nigeria will adopt “global best practices” to ensure that the Chibok girls were freed.

Omeri stated this in a telephone interview while responding to an enquiry from SUNDAY PUNCH.

He was asked whether or not the government had changed its position that it would not exchange the girls for the detained Boko Haram members.

The NIC chairman said, “All options are on the table. Nigeria will adopt international best practices to ensure the girls are free.

“The government of Nigeria is going to explore all options to secure the release of the abducted girls.” (NAN/PN)

Boko Haram writes school, plots fresh abductions

#Chibok: Governor Shettima"s body language different from his words - Security consultant

 

A security consultant, Max Gbanite on Wednesday said the Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima was out of place for divulging information on the number of girls identified in the new video released by the Boko Haram terrorist group.

Shettima

On Tuesday, Governor Kashim Shettima told #BringBackOurGirls’ protesters that the girls were identified by their parents in a video released on Monday by members of the Boko Haram sect.

“I have my reservations regarding the manner, with which this particular governor says one thing, (but) his body language means something other than what he said,” Gbanite said while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily.

On conflicting figures of the number of girls identified by members of the Chibok community in the new video released by the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, Gbanite faulted the Vanguard Newspaper for quoting 77 girls while the Borno Governor, Kashim Shettima had revealed 54 as the figure.

“The identification of these children should be left to the people of Chibok and the security agencies,” he said, faulting the governor’s disclosure as being hasty and out of place.

He further stated that the security agencies should oversee the identification exercise and not the governor, stressing the possibility that some of the girls may be from other tribes or neighbouring countries.

“The governor is in a hurry to give out information. This is not Nollywood nor Kannywood. We are at a very serious junction,” he said, noting that the media centre set up by the Federal Government should be allowed to divulge such information to avoid conflicting reports by all concerned.

He raised several questions as to why the Governor did not provide security for the school where examinations were taking place, as promised.

Gbanite also submitted that a conspiracy was in place in the scheme of things as the combined intelligence of Nigeria’s security agencies and the experts from the international community should have identified the location where the video of the girls was recorded. “Somebody is holding back information and we can’t just accept it all in totality.”

He mentioned that persons, who have been giving information to the public about activities of the sect, even before videos are released, should be invited for questioning on the method through which they obtain information.

He further linked the prevalence of terrorist activities to the prediction that Nigeria would disintegrate in 2015 and wondered what the government was doing to ensure the prediction was foiled.

The security expert further advocated for a system to monitor the activities of Nigerians online which he believed would help in tracking the location of those working with the terrorist group.

#Chibok: Governor Shettima"s body language different from his words - Security consultant

Nigerians reaction over FG swapping kidnapped girls for terrorists

Nigeria is ready to talk to Boko Haram for the release of more than 200 abducted school girls, a minister was quoted by the BBC as saying Minister of Special Duties Tanimu Turaki said if Boko Haram was sincere, its leader Abubakar Shekau should send people he trusts to meet the standing committee on reconciliation. Many Nigerians – politicians, lawyers, public affairs analysts and others – are for dialogue to free the girls – should the need arise. Some are, however, opposed to “talking with terrorists”.

Sir Olaniwun Ajayi said:

Afenifere chieftain and delegate to the National Conference Sir Ajayi rejected the sect’s proposal, saying that it is devoid of logic and no basis can be found for it in law and morality.

He queried: “Which country is that practiced? People offended the state. Their ring leaders who sent them on an unlawful errand to invade a school and take the innocent girls are giving conditions. They are saying that their members in detention should be released before they release the girls. Where is that done in the world?

“A thief invaded a house. Then, the thief is saying that, before what is stolen can be returned, you have to pay money to the thieves. No government can do that. Our government should not do that. In other countries, the sect members would have been apprehended by now”.

Another Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, said:

“The government has done the right thing by exploring dialogue as route to the solution to the problem. But, it is legally and morally wrong to propose the release of the Boko Haram suspects in prison in exchange for the innocent girls. That is not acceptable”.

A delegate to the National Conference, Senator Olabiyi Durojaye, said:

“The people terrorising the country cannot give terms and their demands are irritating.”

He stressed: ‘It is the height of ignorance. You have harmed people and you are asking that some people should be released from detention before you can release the girls. They are trying to ridicule the government and our nation. I am not happy about the whole situation. There are experts who can handle the negotiation with the sect. But, their condition is not right”.

Former Kaduna State Governor Balarabe Musa said:

“The Federal Government should accept  it, if it will encourage dialogue. The two sides are holding hostages,  although the Federal Government may say it is holding criminals. It may be the beginning of peaceful settlement of the problem. The Federal Government has no alternative than to dialogue. The offer should be accepted as it will give room for meaningful dialogue.”

Former Lagos State Deputy Governor Rafiu Jafojo said:

“It is unfortunate and uncalled for. Icannot support that. The children have nothing to do with their claims, what they want and what they are fighting for. If they want to fight the government as terrorist, they can fight the government. But, they cannot be seizing girls. Why should they go to schools to disrupt the peace of the place?

“I don’t support the idea of unconditional release of the innocent girls. Let them release the children to their families and embrace dialogue. Why should faceless people give conditions to government?

Lagos state House of Assembly majority leader Dr. Jibayo Adeyeye said:

“While nothing would be too much on the side of the government to ensure that the girls are released and reunited with their families. The government should however be weary of succumbing to demand by terrorists as it would send a wrong signal in future to others who would want to blackmail the nation when it is faced with such situation in future. I think the Federal Government should follow the lead from the release video about the girls and track them down while it buys time with the exchange proposal.

Rights activist Mike Ozekhome said:

It was former President of America JF Kennedy, who said you should never negotiate out of fear. There are times that we have to stoop to conquer. We are talking of lives here; we are talking of little children, fairly between the ages of 10 and 16 years, taking into the wilderness by Boko.

The parents of these little children are traumatised, they cannot sleep, and they cannot eat. They do not know the fate of their children. Shekau has said initially that he will sell the girls into slavery; he has changed his position to exchanging them for the arrested Boko Haram people. The question now is what is the way out? The Turaki Committee’s primary purpose is to see how they can negotiate, so as to end the insurgency. I therefore, do no say that the idea of negotiation with Boko Haram is so alien to the government, that it is suddenly a taboo. The government has been accused that it was playing a game of stick and carrot. We are now talking about human lives. This is one area where I throw my weight behind the government of Nigeria, to negotiate with these people to release these little innocent girls. Some of who will become ministers, governors and top government functionaries in Nigeria.

 

Abubakar Tsav, former commissioner of police, Lagos States has mixed feelings about the matter. He is fully in support of negotiation with the insurgents “for the sake of the girls, who are innocent and should not be made to suffer for what they did not cause.” He added: “One could also consider this from the point of view of their parents who are now in trauma and do not know what next to do. So, on humanitarian grounds, yes, I am for negotiation. In the interest of peace, anything we can do to bring back these girls would be welcomed.” He said America at one point or the other exchanged prisoners with people they considered as terrorists, to effect the release of their citizens.

But on the other hand, Tsav insists such an idea is arrant nonsense. His words: “These people have killed a lot of Nigerians; they have destabilised this country; and they have bombed churches and mosques. Seen from that perspective, it is not proper. If we do it, we would be indirectly supporting terrorism.”

The former police commissioner said Nigeria’s problem was that when President Goodluck Jonathan was advised to negotiate with them at the outset, he refused, saying he cannot negotiate with ghosts. “Now these ghosts are disturbing the whole country. So, I think those who are advising the President are not advising him well,” he added. Besides, he said the area where the girls were abducted is under emergency rule, and that the security agencies failed in their duty to protect the citizens. Tsav wondered whether there is any sort of connivance between some of the soldiers and Boko Haram members.

Chief Niyi Akintola said:

“Boko Haram demand as unjustifiable, unreasonable and should be rejected by the Federal government.

“The Federal Government should not succumb to blackmail. It should not compromise anything. Those who had committed crimes against humanity cannot dictate terms of their release from detention.  They should account for their crimes.

“On what basis should the government negotiate with them. Their demand is totally unacceptable. The whole world is against them, everybody is angry with them. We should condemn Boko Haram’s act.

Afenifere chieftain, Senator Ayo Fasanmi, said:

“Even though human lives are involved, government should not negotiate with murderers.”

Mr. Chris Uche (SAN) advised government to leave every option open. He urged the Jonathan administration to explore all options and possibilities to get the girls back to their parents.

Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, Second Republic politician said:

“This does not necessarily mean that government should accede to all the demands of the terrorists.  I believe in the course of negotiation, a middle course may be found,” he said from his base in Kano on the telephone, adding: “It is important that the door of negotiation should not be shut.”

Yakassai, who was special adviser to Second Republic President Shehu Shagari on National Assembly Affairs, said the Federal Government had not entirely ruled out negotiation, and that his understanding of government’s position is that it may resort to negotiation when the need arises.

Dr. Jerry Chukwuokolo, an Enugu lawyer and rights activist said:

“The whole idea is absurd.”

He argued that Boko Haram insurgents cannot be compared with Niger Delta militants in anyway. He said: “We were able to negotiate with the militants because we saw them, but these insurgents who are they?

“Secondly, what they have done to fellow Nigerians without justification is heinous; how can we be negotiating with such elements? In fact, I’m beginning to think that the whole thing is being orchestrated. These girls have been in the custody of the terrorists for only three weeks, but they can now recite lengthy passages in the Quran; majority of these girls are Christians, I don’t think it is possible.”

Former Information Minister, Prince Tony Momoh said:

“In my own personal opinion and as a Nigerian, I believe that the President is in a big dilemma. If he refuses to negotiate and any of the children dies, people will not forgive the President.

“The President himself said he does not want to win an election, if the blood of one person would be shed. People will be looking at those areas, personally, I believe in communication.

“Communication is the only way crisis can be resolved not through war.  At a particular time, in the affairs of men, if there is war, there must be talking. In this regard, my own policy at any time an issue arises or there is a disagreement, I would like to achieve peace through talking.

“I don’t believe in war, so with that mind set and we have these kids being held by Boko Haram and they are saying the only way to release them is through negotiation, I will negotiate. To say you will not negotiate, people will put the blame on you if anything untoward happen to them.

“So, if I was him, I will reach out behind the scene to them to have these girls brought back home. That is the main thing. If any of them dies and we look at the situation, the President will never escape an accusation of intransigence. If they are strong enough to be in possession of our 200 daughters, I will insist on negotiation. If they say release our prisoners, will they go and seek asylum outside Nigeria? If that is the condition to bring back our children, we must not be big headed to say we will not negotiate. If those children die Jonathan will never be forgiven.”

Former President Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Olasupo Ojo said:

“A country like America’s standing policy is that you don’t negotiate with terrorists, no matter who the President is. Nigeria has no clear policy, so, it means it is at the discretion of who is the President, to decide what happens. This is the approach that President Jonathan will follow. He is not courageous, he is not bold, he is not a firebrand, and he does not have the gut. So, you can be assured he would prefer negotiation.”

Yobe State House of Assembly Adamu Dala Dogo, said:

“Negotiation with Boko Haram is another solution to the release of the abducted girls.”

“The Federal Government should negotiate with Boko Haram and bring back our girls. But the Boko Haram should also send their delegates to come and negotiate with the Federal Government because government cannot negotiate with faceless people.

“I think negotiation is another way of solving the problem while the government is considering other options. The use of force will put the life of those girls on the line and that is the least that the parents of these girls and any other Nigerian expect.

“The Federal Government must act responsibly and fast too because time is running out on this matter.”

Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Special Duties:

“What I said is that we are willing to dialogue with them. And that’s why the Government set the Presidential Committee on a Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges even before the abduction of the Chibok girls. We want to have comprehensive discussions with them through dialogue, that will lead to the peaceful resolution of all issues, including but not limited to the release of the abducted girls. I didn’t say negotiation because that is too restrictive in the present circumstances.”

Nigeria is ready to talk to Boko Haram for the release of more than 200 abducted school girls, a minister was quoted by the BBC as saying Minister of Special Duties Tanimu Turaki said if Boko Haram was sincere, its leader Abubakar Shekau should send people he trusts to meet the standing committee on reconciliation. Many Nigerians – politicians, lawyers, public affairs analysts and others – are for dialogue to free the girls – should the need arise. Some are, however, opposed to “talking with terrorists”.

Sir Olaniwun Ajayi said:

Afenifere chieftain and delegate to the National Conference Sir Ajayi rejected the sect’s proposal, saying that it is devoid of logic and no basis can be found for it in law and morality.

He queried: “Which country is that practiced? People offended the state. Their ring leaders who sent them on an unlawful errand to invade a school and take the innocent girls are giving conditions. They are saying that their members in detention should be released before they release the girls. Where is that done in the world?

“A thief invaded a house. Then, the thief is saying that, before what is stolen can be returned, you have to pay money to the thieves. No government can do that. Our government should not do that. In other countries, the sect members would have been apprehended by now”.

Another Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, said:

“The government has done the right thing by exploring dialogue as route to the solution to the problem. But, it is legally and morally wrong to propose the release of the Boko Haram suspects in prison in exchange for the innocent girls. That is not acceptable”.

A delegate to the National Conference, Senator Olabiyi Durojaye, said:

“The people terrorising the country cannot give terms and their demands are irritating.”

He stressed: ‘It is the height of ignorance. You have harmed people and you are asking that some people should be released from detention before you can release the girls. They are trying to ridicule the government and our nation. I am not happy about the whole situation. There are experts who can handle the negotiation with the sect. But, their condition is not right”.

Former Kaduna State Governor Balarabe Musa said:

“The Federal Government should accept  it, if it will encourage dialogue. The two sides are holding hostages,  although the Federal Government may say it is holding criminals. It may be the beginning of peaceful settlement of the problem. The Federal Government has no alternative than to dialogue. The offer should be accepted as it will give room for meaningful dialogue.”

Former Lagos State Deputy Governor Rafiu Jafojo said:

“It is unfortunate and uncalled for. Icannot support that. The children have nothing to do with their claims, what they want and what they are fighting for. If they want to fight the government as terrorist, they can fight the government. But, they cannot be seizing girls. Why should they go to schools to disrupt the peace of the place?

“I don’t support the idea of unconditional release of the innocent girls. Let them release the children to their families and embrace dialogue. Why should faceless people give conditions to government?

Lagos state House of Assembly majority leader Dr. Jibayo Adeyeye said:

“While nothing would be too much on the side of the government to ensure that the girls are released and reunited with their families. The government should however be weary of succumbing to demand by terrorists as it would send a wrong signal in future to others who would want to blackmail the nation when it is faced with such situation in future. I think the Federal Government should follow the lead from the release video about the girls and track them down while it buys time with the exchange proposal.

Rights activist Mike Ozekhome said:

It was former President of America JF Kennedy, who said you should never negotiate out of fear. There are times that we have to stoop to conquer. We are talking of lives here; we are talking of little children, fairly between the ages of 10 and 16 years, taking into the wilderness by Boko.

The parents of these little children are traumatised, they cannot sleep, and they cannot eat. They do not know the fate of their children. Shekau has said initially that he will sell the girls into slavery; he has changed his position to exchanging them for the arrested Boko Haram people. The question now is what is the way out? The Turaki Committee’s primary purpose is to see how they can negotiate, so as to end the insurgency. I therefore, do no say that the idea of negotiation with Boko Haram is so alien to the government, that it is suddenly a taboo. The government has been accused that it was playing a game of stick and carrot. We are now talking about human lives. This is one area where I throw my weight behind the government of Nigeria, to negotiate with these people to release these little innocent girls. Some of who will become ministers, governors and top government functionaries in Nigeria.

 

Abubakar Tsav, former commissioner of police, Lagos States has mixed feelings about the matter. He is fully in support of negotiation with the insurgents “for the sake of the girls, who are innocent and should not be made to suffer for what they did not cause.” He added: “One could also consider this from the point of view of their parents who are now in trauma and do not know what next to do. So, on humanitarian grounds, yes, I am for negotiation. In the interest of peace, anything we can do to bring back these girls would be welcomed.” He said America at one point or the other exchanged prisoners with people they considered as terrorists, to effect the release of their citizens.

But on the other hand, Tsav insists such an idea is arrant nonsense. His words: “These people have killed a lot of Nigerians; they have destabilised this country; and they have bombed churches and mosques. Seen from that perspective, it is not proper. If we do it, we would be indirectly supporting terrorism.”

The former police commissioner said Nigeria’s problem was that when President Goodluck Jonathan was advised to negotiate with them at the outset, he refused, saying he cannot negotiate with ghosts. “Now these ghosts are disturbing the whole country. So, I think those who are advising the President are not advising him well,” he added. Besides, he said the area where the girls were abducted is under emergency rule, and that the security agencies failed in their duty to protect the citizens. Tsav wondered whether there is any sort of connivance between some of the soldiers and Boko Haram members.

Chief Niyi Akintola said:

“Boko Haram demand as unjustifiable, unreasonable and should be rejected by the Federal government.

“The Federal Government should not succumb to blackmail. It should not compromise anything. Those who had committed crimes against humanity cannot dictate terms of their release from detention.  They should account for their crimes.

“On what basis should the government negotiate with them. Their demand is totally unacceptable. The whole world is against them, everybody is angry with them. We should condemn Boko Haram’s act.

Afenifere chieftain, Senator Ayo Fasanmi, said:

“Even though human lives are involved, government should not negotiate with murderers.”

Mr. Chris Uche (SAN) advised government to leave every option open. He urged the Jonathan administration to explore all options and possibilities to get the girls back to their parents.

Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, Second Republic politician said:

“This does not necessarily mean that government should accede to all the demands of the terrorists.  I believe in the course of negotiation, a middle course may be found,” he said from his base in Kano on the telephone, adding: “It is important that the door of negotiation should not be shut.”

Yakassai, who was special adviser to Second Republic President Shehu Shagari on National Assembly Affairs, said the Federal Government had not entirely ruled out negotiation, and that his understanding of government’s position is that it may resort to negotiation when the need arises.

Dr. Jerry Chukwuokolo, an Enugu lawyer and rights activist said:

“The whole idea is absurd.”

He argued that Boko Haram insurgents cannot be compared with Niger Delta militants in anyway. He said: “We were able to negotiate with the militants because we saw them, but these insurgents who are they?

“Secondly, what they have done to fellow Nigerians without justification is heinous; how can we be negotiating with such elements? In fact, I’m beginning to think that the whole thing is being orchestrated. These girls have been in the custody of the terrorists for only three weeks, but they can now recite lengthy passages in the Quran; majority of these girls are Christians, I don’t think it is possible.”

Former Information Minister, Prince Tony Momoh said:

“In my own personal opinion and as a Nigerian, I believe that the President is in a big dilemma. If he refuses to negotiate and any of the children dies, people will not forgive the President.

“The President himself said he does not want to win an election, if the blood of one person would be shed. People will be looking at those areas, personally, I believe in communication.

“Communication is the only way crisis can be resolved not through war.  At a particular time, in the affairs of men, if there is war, there must be talking. In this regard, my own policy at any time an issue arises or there is a disagreement, I would like to achieve peace through talking.

“I don’t believe in war, so with that mind set and we have these kids being held by Boko Haram and they are saying the only way to release them is through negotiation, I will negotiate. To say you will not negotiate, people will put the blame on you if anything untoward happen to them.

“So, if I was him, I will reach out behind the scene to them to have these girls brought back home. That is the main thing. If any of them dies and we look at the situation, the President will never escape an accusation of intransigence. If they are strong enough to be in possession of our 200 daughters, I will insist on negotiation. If they say release our prisoners, will they go and seek asylum outside Nigeria? If that is the condition to bring back our children, we must not be big headed to say we will not negotiate. If those children die Jonathan will never be forgiven.”

Former President Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Olasupo Ojo said:

“A country like America’s standing policy is that you don’t negotiate with terrorists, no matter who the President is. Nigeria has no clear policy, so, it means it is at the discretion of who is the President, to decide what happens. This is the approach that President Jonathan will follow. He is not courageous, he is not bold, he is not a firebrand, and he does not have the gut. So, you can be assured he would prefer negotiation.”

Yobe State House of Assembly Adamu Dala Dogo, said:

“Negotiation with Boko Haram is another solution to the release of the abducted girls.”

“The Federal Government should negotiate with Boko Haram and bring back our girls. But the Boko Haram should also send their delegates to come and negotiate with the Federal Government because government cannot negotiate with faceless people.

“I think negotiation is another way of solving the problem while the government is considering other options. The use of force will put the life of those girls on the line and that is the least that the parents of these girls and any other Nigerian expect.

“The Federal Government must act responsibly and fast too because time is running out on this matter.”

Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Special Duties:

“What I said is that we are willing to dialogue with them. And that’s why the Government set the Presidential Committee on a Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges even before the abduction of the Chibok girls. We want to have comprehensive discussions with them through dialogue, that will lead to the peaceful resolution of all issues, including but not limited to the release of the abducted girls. I didn’t say negotiation because that is too restrictive in the present circumstances.”

Nigerians reaction over FG swapping kidnapped girls for terrorists