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Tag: chibok girls

  • Buhari’s integrity facilitated Chibok girls’ release – Osinbajo

    Buhari’s integrity facilitated Chibok girls’ release – Osinbajo

    Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has said the integrity of President Muhammadu Buhari played a major role in the negotiation and subsequent release of the Chibok girls so far released by the terrorist group, Boko Haram.

    He said President Buhari deserved praise for his integrity and commitment, stressing that the federal government will not rest on its oars, until all the girls were found.

    Osinbajo said this in Abuja while receiving a delegation of Borno State elders led by the governor, Kashim Shettima, when they paid him a commendation visit for the role he played in securing the release of the latest batch of Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists.

    He also said the release of the 82 Chibok girls by the government demonstrates government’s commitment towards addressing all the challenges confronting the nation.

    The Acting-President said: “A lot of what has happened in the past few months especially the return of the first set of girls and these ones, is largely on account of the fact that the international community, our development partners and those who have helped in the whole process of negotiation believe in the integrity of our President.

    “They recognize his genuineness and forthrightness. That has helped a great deal and we are thankful for that kind of leadership.

    “The way that God works is that he puts people in positions of authority knowing that they are capable of redressing the situations that they find themselves in or providing the kind of leadership that he wants, otherwise, we shouldn’t be where we are.”‎

    “We cannot wait for another generation of leaders, it is this tenure of leaders who must do what it takes to resolve most of the issues that face us today,” he added.

    In his remarks, Governor Shettima said that the State government would remain grateful to the Presidency for giving hope to the parents of the girls and Borno State in general.

    He further expressed the hope that the remaining girls would be rescued from their captors.

     

  • Why we helped Nigeria secure Chibok girls’ release – Switzerland

    Why we helped Nigeria secure Chibok girls’ release – Switzerland

    The spokesperson of Switzerland Foreign Ministry, Noemie Charton, said Switzerland took part in negotiations that secured the release of 82 girls kidnapped by Nigerian terror group Boko Haram

    He said the country took part “at the request of Nigeria” and due to “humanitarian concerns.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that a Boko Haram faction had released the girls, who had been held captive for three years, in exchange for prisoners.

    Those freed were part of a group of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped from the Chibok village, in the restive Borno state, in April 2014.

    Nigeria thanked Switzerland, the International Committee of the Red Cross as well as local and international NGOs for helping secure the release of the girls.

    “Switzerland’s commitment is motivated by humanitarian concerns.

    “Switzerland’s engagement in this operation was guided by the principles of strict neutrality and non-interference,” Charton said.

    Charton added that Switzerland called on the release of the rest of the Chibok girls still being held captive by the group.

    At least 21 Chibok girls were released last October in another deal brokered by Switzerland and the Red Cross. It is believed that 114 girls are still in Boko Haram custody.

    “The process of negotiation with groups like Boko Haram is very complex and stressful and requires a varied number of actors working together and playing different, but key roles to realise the desired outcome,” security analyst and counter-terrorism expert David Otto told IBTimes UK.

    “The Switzerland representative played an active role in organising negotiations from within Nigeria and outside Nigeria along with local key actors like Barrister Zannah Mustapha and [human rights activist and lawyer] Asiha Wakil who wield trust due to their pre-existing relationships with one or more factions,” he continued.

    Details of the negotiations that resulted in the release of the girls have not been disclosed and little is known about the identity of the prisoners.

    However, Otto – who said his company TGS Consulting was involved in negotiations – said the the prisoners are “influential Boko Haram commanders”.

    “Their roles have never been officially established except that Boko Haram require[d] their release in exchange,” he said.

    Ryan Cummings, director of political and security risk management consultancy, Signal Risk, told IBTimes UK: “It is difficult to speculate the impact that the release of the detained commanders would have on the operational capacity of the sect, given that we do not know the identities of the operatives released as a result of the hostage exchange.

     

     

    NAN

  • Some abducted Chibok girls in Boko Haram’s den refused ‘freedom’ – Negotiator

    Some abducted Chibok girls in Boko Haram’s den refused ‘freedom’ – Negotiator

    …as presidency orders spiritual, psychological and physical rehabilitation of released girls

    One of the negotiators that facilitated the release of the 82 Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram militants from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014, on Monday said some of the girls voluntarily refused to be freed from the terrorist den.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that 82 of the girls were safely returned to the Nigerian Government on Saturday following the exchange of some suspected Boko Haram members imprisoned by the government.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that after their abduction in 2014, a number of the girls escaped after which Boko Haram freed 21 last October, after negotiations with the Red Cross.

    However, about 113 of the girls are said to still be in Boko Haram’s captivity. The Federal Government has assured the general public that negotiations for their release is in progress.

    A legal practitioner and mediator, Zannah Mustapha, said some of the abducted girls refused to join the train to freedom, fuelling fears that they had been radicalised by the jihadists, and might be afraid, ashamed or even too powerful to return to their old lives.

    “Some girls refused to return. I have never talked to one of the girls about their reasons,” said 57-year-old Mustapha, who acted as an intermediary in the latest negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram, while speaking with Reuters.

    “As a mediator, it is not part of my mandate to force them (to return home).”

    A Nigerian psychologist, Fatima Akilu, in chat with The Punch believed that the girls might preferred to identify with their captors instead of embracing freedom.

    “They develop Stockholm syndrome, identify with captors and want to remain,” said Akilu, who has run deradicalisation programmes for Boko Haram militants and women abducted by them.

    “Some are afraid of what to expect, the unknown. We don’t know how much influence their husbands have in coercing them not to go back,” added Akilu, head of the Neem Foundation, a non-profit group aimed at countering extremism in Nigeria.

    Mustapha explained that future talks between the government and the sect would extend beyond the release of the remaining Chibok girls in captivity and focus on negotiating peace in the conflict-hit North-East.

    His role as a mediator dates back to 2007, when he founded the Future Prowess Primary School in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State.

    When conflict broke out in 2009, the school remained open and was said to have even enrolled those children born to Boko Haram fighters.

    He added, “We are not just talking; we are still actively working towards peace.

    “Even though we have got (some of) the girls back, I don’t feel we have made much progress. After the (release of) the 21 girls, how many hundreds have been killed by suicide bombings?”

    “While Boko Haram may indeed hold out in releasing all of the hostages to maintain some form of leverage, the reality is that the girls have limited value to the sect outside of public relations capital and are likely placing a strain on resources.”

  • FG donate drugs for rehabilitation of freed Chibok girls

    FG donate drugs for rehabilitation of freed Chibok girls

    The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has donated Drugs and other Essential Commodities to an undisclosed medical facility for the rehabilitation of the 82 rescued Chibok Girls.

    Mrs Boade Akinola, Director Media and Public Relations of ministry said the Minister made the donation on Monday in Abuja.

    According to her, the Minister made the donation during a visit to the Chibok Girls at the Health Facility where they are currently receiving care.

    The minister has assured the recently freed 82 Chibok Girls of the determination of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration to ensure their complete health and wellbeing.

    “We are happy for you and we thank God for your release.

    “President Buhari has shown his commitment to your plight and has directed that we offer best of medical services.

    We are going to take care of you so that you can go out and live productive lives again.
    it is our job to help you. Please, do not hide anything from us,“ Adewole said.

    Adewole assured Nigerians that every needed commodity shall be provided as soon as the laboratory results are delivered.

    He called on the medical team to setup individual chart to track the progress of each of the girls.

    He called on the care providers to give special attention to psychosocial services bearing in mind that the girls have been held captive for almost three years.

  • Military pressure on Shekau, Buhari’s health led to Chibok girls’ release

    Military pressure on Shekau, Buhari’s health led to Chibok girls’ release

    Military pressure, in-fighting within Boko Haram and Nigerian Muhammadu Buhari’s health combined to secure the release of 82 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, sources said Monday.

    The latest batch of the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted in April 2014 were freed Saturday in a prisoner swap for three senior jihadist commanders, all of them Chadian nationals.

    A source with contacts among the Islamist militants under leader Abubakar Shekau said the students were handed over in a forest to the northeast of the town of Banki, on the border with Cameroon, after months of talks.

    “Shekau kept unnecessarily dragging the negotiations to gain more leverage,” the source, who has previously provided regular, reliable information on the jihadists, told AFP.

    But he was forced to accept terms after air strikes on his men in Balla village, on the edge of Sambisa Forest in Borno state, last month.

    Several of his senior commanders were killed in the April 28 attack and Shekau himself was said to have been injured, although he later denied it.

    “The reason why the aerial bombing in Balla forced him to seal the deal was he had lost many commanders and badly needed replacements,” the source said.

    Shekau then gave the green light to his negotiator, a Cameroon national stationed in a village on the other side of the border, to agree to the girls’ release, he added.

    – Health concerns –

    Nigeria’s government has refused to comment publicly on the prisoner swap deal and it is not clear whether any ransom was paid, making it difficult to assess how Shekau will benefit.

    Talks are already said to have started for the release of some or all of the 113 girls still being held in what would be a boost for Buhari and his government if successful.

    A security source involved in the negotiations said the talks took place over six weeks and involved an almost daily “back and forth” between the two sides.

    “Boko Haram wanted money not the release of prisoners. For me, the release (of the girls) was more to do with the state of Buhari’s health than Boko Haram pressure,” he added.

    Buhari, a former military ruler, was elected on a promise to defeat Boko Haram and has been seen as giving impetus to the counter-insurgency. But there has been mounting concern about the 74-year-old’s health after he spent nearly two months undergoing treatment in London and made few public appearances since March.

    On Sunday evening, he looked painfully thin when he met the 82 girls in Abuja then immediately flew to the British capital for another round of treatment for an undisclosed illness.

    AFP

  • Released Chibok girls: No need to worry over swapped insurgents – Presidency

    Released Chibok girls: No need to worry over swapped insurgents – Presidency

    The Federal Government on Monday assured the general public that there was no need to panic over the swap of some suspected Boko Haram insurgents in exchange for the 82 Chibok girls who were released to the government on Saturday.

    This was revealed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina on a monitored programme on Channels Television.

    The Presidential spokesman noted that though there were pocket of attacks in the north-east, the region is secure under the control of the security agencies.

    According to Adesina, “When there is ability and capacity to ensure security there is no need to worry, the north-east is under the effective control of the security agencies.

    “I know there are pockets of attacks here and there but in terms of is the area secure? Yes. We know it is secure.

    “This is a conjecture and there is no truth in it, the [attacks are] talks of the last kicks of a dying horse, that it was what you saw.

    “There are factions. I’m sure when those 21 girls were released, a faction must have been pissed and they decided to strike with some ferocity after that.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that 82 of the girls were safely returned to the Nigerian Government on Saturday following the exchange of some suspected Boko Haram members imprisoned by the government.

     

  • Release of remaining Chibok girls underway as negotiations resume – FG

    Release of remaining Chibok girls underway as negotiations resume – FG

    The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment towards the freedom of the remaining 113 Chibok girls still held in Boko Haram’s detention.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that 82 of the girls were safely returned to the Nigerian Government on Saturday following the exchange of some suspected Boko Haram members imprisoned by the government.

    However, an anonymous presidency source who confided in TheNewsGuru.com, said: “Further negotiations with Boko Haram to continue this week towards the release of more girls. The Swiss government, the Red Cross and Amnesty International are involved.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that like the last batch that was released, subsequent releases might also be based on the prisoner exchange agreement.

    However, opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has condemned the prisoners exchange approach of the Federal Government to freeing the Chibok girls saying it jeopardizes efforts of the military who had fought hard at the expense of their lives to capture the insurgents who have continually pose themselves as enemies of the people.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that after their abduction in 2014, a number of the girls escaped after which Boko Haram freed 21 last October, after negotiations with the Red Cross.

    However, President Muhammadu Buhari in April said the government remained “in constant touch through negotiations, through local intelligence to secure the release of the remaining girls and other abducted persons unharmed”.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of women and children, including more than 200 schoolgirls from the Borno town of Chibok in 2014.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the convener of the Bring Back Our Girls #BBOG, Oby Ezekwesili who has been in the vanguard of the release of the remaining Chibok girls described the new release as “a heartwarming development” while also urging the federal government on the need to double up efforts to secure the release of the remaining 113 in the Boko Haram den.

  • UNICEF hails release of 82 Chibok girls

    UNICEF hails release of 82 Chibok girls

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed delight at the release of the 82 of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents more than three years ago.

    UNICEF Nigeria Acting Representative Pernille Ironside in a statement obtained by Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) from UN in New York, said the girls’ release was “heartening”.

    Ironside said “it is heartening to know that the girls will be returning to their families who have been waiting for this day.

    “They will face a long and difficult process to rebuild their lives after the indescribable horror and trauma they have suffered at the hands of Boko Haram.

    “UNICEF is on standby to support the Nigerian authorities to provide the comprehensive psychosocial support and other specialized services needed.

    “We will help reunite the girls with their families and make sure they can continue their education in a safe environment.

    “Already staff at a UNICEF supported health clinic have been supporting immediate efforts to identify the girls and conduct medical check-ups before their onward transport.

    “UNICEF calls on Boko Haram to end all grave violations against children, especially the abduction of children and the sexual abuse and forced marriage of girls,

    Ironside said UNICEF commended the Federal Government for this important achievement in helping to protect children impacted by the conflict in northeast Nigeria.

    According to her, however, the UN children’s agency remained deeply concerned for the thousands of women and children still held in captivity by Boko Haram.

    The UNICEF official said greater efforts must be made to bring them all to safety and home to their families.

    “UNICEF has a comprehensive plan to help children who have been affected by the conflict in the Lake Chad Basin and works with national authorities to support hundreds of children and women who have escaped or been released by Boko Haram.

    “Every child is unique and requires different levels of support, so there is no standard formula or defined timeframe for these children to recover.

    “UNICEF is committed to doing whatever it takes, as long as it takes, to help these children recover a sense of normalcy with our available resources,” Ironside said.

    TheNewsGuru.com that the 82 girls were released to international negotiators who have been working in collaboration with the Federal government for their safe return since they were kidnapped in April 2014.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu on Saturday in a statement issued in Abuja also confirmed that the girls were release by their captors in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the Federal Government.

  • Jonathan lauds Buhari on Chibok girls’ release

    Mr Taidi Jonathan, former Chairman, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Minna chapter, on Monday said the release of the 82 Chibok school girls demonstrated the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to the welfare of all Nigerians.

    Taidi said in an interview with the newsmen in Minna that the gesture was also a clear demonstration of the Buhari administration to secure the release of all those in captivity.

    “It shows that the Federal Government and its partners have the capacity to release the remaining girls.

    “The release would help to check the emotional trauma the parents of the girls might be facing in the last three years.”

    Jonathan, therefore, called on Nigerians irrespective of religious and political differences to support the government in its efforts to provide security and set the nation on the path of prosperity.

    The former NBA chairman urged Nigerians to seek God’s intervention on the challenges facing the nation, stressing that with fervent prayers, all the challenges facing the country would be holistically tackled.

    Jonathan said Nigerians should imbibe the culture of offering intelligence information to security agencies to help in tackling criminality in the society.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Boko Haram in 2014 abducted more than 200 secondary school girls of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno.

    Twenty one of the girls were released in October 2016, while Buhari directed security agencies to ensure all the affected girls were released and re-united with their families.

     

     

    NAN

  • Released Chibok girls used to divert attention from Buhari’s health – Fayose

    Released Chibok girls used to divert attention from Buhari’s health – Fayose

    Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has insisted that the release of 82 Chibok girls by Boko Haram is aimed at diverting attention from President Muhammadu Buhari’s health.

    In a statement released by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose said Buhari resorted to “flying dubious kites and selling cheap dummies” to distract the people.

    The Governor also insisted that the Chibok girls were not abducted.

    “What is not missing cannot be found… discerning Nigerians understand that the stories do not add up.

    “Right now, a matter of urgent national importance arresting the attention of all and sundry is that of the president’s health.

    “While I continue to pray, in conjunction with other Nigerians, for the president’s quick recovery, I condemn without equivocation this shameless playing on the intelligence and psyche of Nigerians taking undue advantage of the vexed issue of the so-called Chibok girls.

    “It has become the style of this government to distract attention but the truth will be told some day.

    “The questions are: Which Chibok girls are they talking about? Chibok girls who purportedly were writing Physics WAEC examinations but cannot speak simple English? Chibok girls who were shielded from the media? Till today the media have not been allowed access to the so-called Chibok girls.

    “When is the next batch of Chibok girls coming? When is the next make-believe?

    “When there is the need for another cover-up, distraction and diversion of the people’s attention and focus, they will fly their usual kite and sell the self-same jaded dummy,” he said.

    Fayose said it was sad that Nigerians refused to heed his warning on not electing Buhari.

    “It is very unfortunate that we brought ourselves to this sorry pass. I sounded warnings which, unfortunately, were not heeded.

    “The intolerance of this government and the way they are trampling people’s rights, and abridging their freedoms and liberties bring echoes of the dictatorship and autocracy of Gen. Buhari’s first coming in 1985.

    “But, then, there will be a new dawn for Nigeria very soon. Keep hope alive because there will be a new dawn in our country sooner than later. The hunger and suffering in the land are at an unprecedented level right now while the cluelessness and incompetence of this government beggars believe”, he added.

    Buhari has left the country again after 59 days, for further medical check-ups in UK.