There were
indications yesterday that the 230 female students abducted by Boko Haram
terrorists from the Government Girls’ Secondary School, GGSS, Chibok, Borno
State, have been sited at the Sambisa Forest in Borno State, by the Special
Forces of the United States Marines.
This unconfirmed news SHOWBIZPLUSng gathered is already being celebrated by the Nigerian government and
military authority.
The girls
who were abducted on April 14, were part of the 250 students boarded at the
school for the West African School Certificate, WASC/ Senior Secondary School
Certificate, SSSC, examinations, triggering world-wide condemnations.
This was
even as more US military officials arrived Nigeria yesterday to join local
officials in the search for nearly 300 school girls taken captives by the
Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram, the US Secretary of State John Kerry, and
the defence department, Pentagon, said.
The UK team
had earlier arrived in Abuja to support Nigerian government in its response to
the abduction of over 200 school girls.
The arrival
of the foreign troops is coming on the heels of the appeal yesterday by the
former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar for Nigerians to unite and fight the
insurgents to achieve success.
According to
Kerry, “Our inter-agency team is hitting the ground in Nigeria now and they are
going to be working with President Goodluck Jonathan’s government to do
everything that we possibly can to return these girls.”
The CNN also
quoted the U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, John Kirby, who serves as Pentagon press
secretary, as saying that the small team of seven would join advisers
supporting local efforts to find the girls abducted over three weeks ago.
Kerry said
the US team, working with the Nigerian government, would do everything possible
to free the girls and everything possible to stop the atrocities of Boko Haram.
“We are also
going to do everything possible to counter the menace of Boko Haram. The entire
world should not only be condemning this outrage but should be doing everything
possible to help Nigeria in the days ahead,” he added. But there are no plans
to send American combat troops into Nigeria, Mr. Kirby said.
The
abduction of the school girls on April 14 in a remote community in Borno State,
one of the most shocking terrorist acts by Boko Haram yet, has drawn widespread
anger around the world with calls for a swift action.
President
Goodluck Jonathan said Thursday that the kidnapping will be “the beginning of
end” of Boko Haram.
US President
Obama has said he hopes the abduction by Boko Haram will galvanize the
international community to act against the brutal group that has directed much
of its cruelty on civilians and the innocent.
This week,
more than 100 people were killed in a busy market by militants suspected to be
from the group. The attack occurred in Gamboru Ngala, Borno State, near the
Nigerian border with Cameroun.
Besides the
United States, Britain, France and China have also offered to help rescue the
stolen girls.Obama said the team sent to Nigeria comprised personnel from
military, law enforcement and other agencies.
France said
it will station 3,000 troops in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries to help fight
militants in the Sahel region.
British
satellites and advanced tracking capabilities also will be used, and China has
promised to provide any intelligence gathered by its satellite network.
Meanwhile in
a statement yesterday, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said,
“a team of UK experts who will advise and support the Nigerian authorities in
its response to the abduction of over 200 school girls touched down in Abuja,
Nigeria this morning”.
The team is
drawn from across government, including DfID, FCO and the MoD, and will work
with the Nigerian authorities leading on the abductions and terrorism in
Nigeria. The team will be considering not just the recent incidents but also
longer-term counter-terrorism solutions to prevent such attacks in the future
and defeat Boko Haram.
The team
will be working closely with their US counterparts and others to coordinate
efforts.
Us Marines
find abducted girls, arrest Boko Haram leader
However,
military sources said that apart from abducting the girls, the insurgents also
carted away food items and vehicles as well as killing undisclosed number of
people in Chibok on the fateful night.
The sources
told Saturday Vanguard in Abuja that members of the United States Marines who
are already in Maiduguri following the promise by President Barak Obama to
assist Nigeria in rescuing the abducted girls, located the girls inside the
forest, using some Satellite equipment which combed the forest, located an
assembly of the young girls and sent the images back to the Marines on ground
in Maiduguri.
Aside
locating the whereabouts of the girls in the dense forest, it was also, further
gathered that one of the leaders of terrorist group who participated in the
abduction of the girls was arrested by a combined team of the US Marines and
Nigerian forces.
Sources said
that the Boko Haram leader was arrested, through an advanced interceptor
equipment which was used to track the terrorist while exchanging information
with his colleagues in Sambisa Forest about the movements of American and
Nigerian soldiers in Maiduguri.
His phone
was subsequently traced to a location in Maiduguri where he was arrested and
handed over to the Nigerian military.
The location
of the girls in the forest is contrary to widespread reports that the girls had
been distributed and ferried to the Nigerian border towns in Chad, Cameroon and
Niger Republic.
Senator
Ahmed Zanna, representing Borno Central District in whose Maiduguri home, an
alleged Boko Haram top commander was once arrested told the Senate last week
that he gave the Military an up-to-date information on how the girls could be
rescued, but lamented that his information was largely ignored.
He spoke
against the backdrop of the claim by the Boko Haram leader, Sheik Abubakar
Shekau, last week that the girls were booties of war, who would be sold into
slavery.
However,
Atiku said in his blog, “While I have had and continue to have major policy
differences with the government in Abuja and its leadership, as a nation we
must remain united.
”We have
come to a turning point in our war against terrorism in Nigeria. It is a
critical moment for us; the war will not be won without us winning this battle.
In short, if one is not part of the solution, they become part of the problem.
”And at a
moment like this, we can no longer afford anything but a united commitment to
stamping out a great evil that threatens the very existence of the only place
we call home.
”On social
media, I have been amazed by the outpouring of solidarity from within and
outside Nigeria. While on the one hand it is sad to see Nigeria in the news for
its inability to protect its most vulnerable citizens, it is also clear that in
the age of social media no concerns or problems are local.
”It is in
light of this that I welcome the offer of military support from the United
States, United Kingdom, France and others, and the acceptance by the Nigerian
government. While I believe that we waited too long to get to this point of
admitting our need for external help, I will also insist that it’s better late
than never.
”We must
make it clear that under no circumstances should any person, group of persons,
or organization ever be permitted to prey on the children of Nigeria, or any
other country. We must make it easy for everyone who has information about this
crime against humanity to contact the authorities at once.
”We must
make it easy for the innocent population of the affected areas to see the
Nigerian military and authorities as friends, not enemies. We must make it easy
for our soldiers to be loyal and committed to this great and difficult task
ahead of them.
”We must
make it easy for the world to see Nigeria as a country that cares for all its
citizens, regardless of their age, gender, religion, ethnic group or economic
class. We must remember the people most affected, trapped on the frontlines of
the battle.
They need
support, relief and rehabilitation. ”We must remember they will need help when
they are returned home to their families and their loved ones. And we must make
it difficult for anyone to play politics with this crisis.
’’Nothing,
absolutely nothing, is worth the bloodshed and the destruction we have come to
associate with this campaign of terror. Not party affiliations, not the 2015
elections. We are in a race against time. For every day we delay our response,
or allow ourselves to be caught up in needless bickering, we hand victory over
to the forces of darkness and despair, like Boko Haram.”
Atiku
appeals for unity to defeat Boko Haram
However, the
arrival of the foreign military officials is coming on the heels of the appeal
yesterday by the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar on Nigerians to unite
and fight the insurgents.
Atiku said
the Nigeria had reached a turning point in the war against terrorism, asking
the people irrespective of class, status, religion or party affiliation to
unite to ensure victory over evil.
Atiku posted
his opinion on his blog on the website lamenting the high level of insurgency
resulting in the abduction of female students by Boko Haram Islamist sect,
pointing out Nigerians can no longer afford any other thing, but a united
commitment to stamp out what he termed ‘’a great evil that threatens the very
existence of the only place we can call our home.’’
No Boko
Haram activities in Lagos — Police
In a related
development, the Lagos State Police Command said yesterday that the rumour
about activities of Boko Haram members in some parts of the state was false.
The Public
Relations Officer, PRO, of the state Police Command, DSP Ngozi Braide, made
this known at a news conference yesterday, at Premier College Group of Schools,
Palm Avenue, Mushin, where the sect members allegedly invaded.
“It is not
true that there is any act of terrorism anywhere in Lagos State. It is a lie
that the terrorists invaded Premier College to abduct students.
“Somebody
just sat down somewhere and cooked up the lies to cause panic in the state.
“Premier
College and other schools in the state are safe and secure; let the public
discountenance the rumour,“ she said. The Executive Director of the college, Mr
Abraham Martins, spoke in the same vein, describing the rumour as ”false and
baseless.”
There are
indications that with the confirmation that the girls are still within Nigerian
territory, contrary to widespread reports that the girls have been distributed
and ferried out, the original plan to storm Sambisa forest which was put on
hold, would now be activated.It is however not clear if and when the the rescue
operation would begin.
Vanguard
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