The mothers of some of
the 234 young women kidnapped from a middle
school in inChilbok, in the Nigerian state
of Borno, sit and await news
on their abducted
children. A new video was released today showing
the girls being held together
[watch below]
Military Faults Amnesty International Claims it Knew of Girls' Abduction (The Daily Independent, Nigeria)
"A senior government official who spoke on condition of
anonymity said, 'It is idiotic and incomprehensible for anyone to say that the
military had prior information before the abduction of the girls and failed to
do anything. But I can assure you that the federal government will definitely
get to the bottom of this, [and] it will be properly investigated. That is all
I can tell you.' ... Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Dr. ChidiAnselemOdinkalu,
faulted the report. ... 'That is silly
navel gazing. In my view, the recent AI report on Nigeria falls well short of
the standards of rigor and responsibility that we've become accustomed to from
it. It looks like the overriding imperative is to get its name in the news
rather help in the search for these kids. I hope that makes them happy,' he
said."
May 12, 2014
By OncheOdeh in Lagos, Joe Nwankwo and Stella Omona in
Abuja, and and Sunny Nwankwo
in Maiduguri
People in Chilbok Nigeria, where 234 schoolgirls were abducted, demonstrate against government corruption, which they see as a primary cause of insecurity, May 5.
The
mystery over the whereabouts of over 200 girls abducted from a secondary school
in Chibok, in the state of Borno,
may still be in dispute, sine the position of the Nigerian government conflicts
with that of the United States and United Nations.
When
the weekend began, Nigerian Defence Headquarters faulted an Amnesty International
report alleging that the Defense Ministry had been informed of the impending
attack, describing it as untrue and profoundly unfortunate.
Whereas
Pentagon press secretary, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral John Kirby, was quoted by CNN as
saying that the girls may have been split up and taken over the Nigerian border
to various locations, the presidential office maintains that they remain within
the confines of Sambisa Forest.
According
Kirby, U.S. officials believe the girls "have been broken up into smaller
groups," although his statement was devoid of details about how this
conclusion was drawn.
Former
British Prime Minister and U.N. Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown
shares Kirby's view: "The search must be in Niger, Cameroon and Chad, to see
if we can find information," Brown has been quoted as saying.
President
Goodluck Jonathan, however, believing the girls are
still in Nigeria, somewhere in the Sambisa Forest, said,
"If they move that number of girls into Cameroon, people will see. So I
believe they are still in Nigeria."
In
a statement late Friday night, Defence Information Director
Major General Chris Olukolade noted that while the
Nigerian military appreciates the global concern and show of solidarity in
these trying times, falsehood should not be introduced as a means of assessing
the situation.
"It
has to be categorically stated that the claims
by Amnesty International ... that security forces had advanced warning
about the abduction of students from the government secondary school in Chilbok of Borno State by
terrorists is unfounded."
He
said that contrary to Amnesty's claims, troops in Maiduguri did not receive forewarning
four hours before the attack.
Rather,
they received generalized information from troops on patrol about an ongoing
attack on the community of Chibok. The soldiers,
after noting the attack, engaged the terrorists and called for reinforcements
to contain them"
Meanwhile,
some Borno State residents have sounded a discordant tone
about a rescue mission mounted by foreign experts.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Apart
from those who see foreign assistance for Borno as a government
ploy to reduce the population of young people in the area through mass killing,
others describe it as a shame on government for being unable to contain the BokoHaram terror group without seeking international security
assistance.
Barrister
A. Bulama, [who works on] the Maiduguri
military base, took issue with the idea of a foreign intervention to rescue
the missing girls.
"It
baffles me a lot that Nigerian security cannot put an end to BokoHaram's over four year old reign
of terror in Nigeria. So does that means that if foreign soldiers refuse to
render assistance, chances of regaining their freedom of those abducted girls will
be dashed? ...
"I
am sure that defence has the greatest share of this
year’s budget. How is it then, the question must be, that our security
operatives can't contain a small group like BokoHaram? To me it is a shame that BokoHaram has overrun our security to the point that we
are looking for help from the international community," Bulama reiterated.
A
senior state official who doesn't want to be named said that the security
assistance the U.S. and other world powers have offered Nigeria is well
appreciated and may bring an end to the terror group in the country.
"We
are very happy they're coming. They have noted with dismay the security
challenges Nigeria is experiencing, particularly with the abduction of these
girls. I believe after rescuing the missing girls, the foreign troops may have
to stay behind to ensure the terrorist group's total eradication from Nigeria"
he said.
Even
so, The Sunday Independent learned
that the BokoHaram
insurgency and terrorism in the sub-region will top the agenda at the next Economic
Community of West African States [ECOWAS] security summit which is slated to be held in
Accra, Ghana.
According to ECOWAS Chairman and Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama,
ECOWAS leaders had decided, to facilitate efforts to
rescue the abducted girls, to invoke the community’s protocols on
counter-terrorism.
President Mahama disclosed that ECOWAS Intelligence
Service chiefs would work out a new framework for intelligence sharing to
support the effort to eradicate the threat of terrorism in Nigeria and all of
the West African sub-region.
As reactions
continue to Amnesty International's report that the military had four hours notice
before the 234 school girls in Chibok were abducted, the
federal government, even as it has declared that it would investigate the
allegations, has described the charge as incomprehensible.
A senior government
official who spoke on condition of anonymity said, "It is idiotic and incomprehensible
for anyone to say that the military had prior information before the abduction
of the girls and failed to do anything. But I can assure you that the federal government
will definitely get to the bottom of this, [and] it will be properly
investigated. That is all I can tell you."
Chairman of
the National Human Rights Commission Dr. ChidiAnselemOdinkalu faulted the Amnesty
International report, saying it was not in the best interest of the search for
the girls.
"That is
silly navel gazing. In my view, the recent AI report on Nigeria falls well
short of the standards of rigor and responsibility that we've become accustomed
to from it. It looks like the overriding imperative is to get its name in the
news rather help in the search for these kids. I hope that makes them happy,"
he said.
