My daughter was pregnant when Boko Haram abducted her – Father of rescued Chibok girl

The father of one of the released Chibok schoolgirls, Deborah Jafaru has explained how his daughter was taken and how grateful he was to God and the federal government for her release.

The girls who were abducted by the religious extremists, Boko Haram in their school dormitory in Chibok, Borno state, Northeast Nigeria two years ago, were last week, released to the federal government in an undisclosed bargain with the dreaded sect.

The happy father explained in a thanksgiving service in Abuja, yesterday, that his daughter returned to the school to re-seat her WASCE when she was taken away.

Christian women declare Chibok girls, BBOG as scam

Even as some groups of people risk their lives to protest for the rescue of the Chibok girls, Christian women in Nigeria have denounced the abduction of the Chibok girls in Borno state over two years ago. 

The women, under the aegis of Women’s Wing of the Christian Council of Nigeria (WOWICCN), on Friday, September 9 declared the abduction and the consequent move by the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group to get government to rescue them as ruse.

Vanguard quotes the national president of the group, Rev. Mrs. Omatsola Williams as saying during an interview with newsmen at the second Bi-ennial national convention of the WOWICCN tagged; ‘Women; Goodly Heritage’ in Abuja, that the matter is now being used to promote selfish interests.

“For me o’, I don’t believe that there is Chibok girl. We should not use the life of people to play ‘Jambo’ (game) at all. Some people are using this to make money. Ah ha! How tick is the Sambisa forest is it that people cannot penetrate? “Food for thought; when you come to Niger Delta Area, there is no secret. Let Nigerians do not toil with Nigerians, because before they know it, women will arise and they will see the other side of women,” she said.

 Her words echo those of a group that is in support of President Muhammadu Buhari, which says that the group is distracting the president rather than helping. You can also read all what the group also said about BBOG Ezekwesili in shock as #BringBackOurGirls is declared scam.

We regret voting for you in 2015 – Chibok indigenes, #BringBackOurGirls tell Buhari

Indigenes of Chibok community resident in Abuja and members of the #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG), movement on Monday said they regretted voting for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election.

They expressed their regrets on in Abuja at a protest rally over the inability of the government to take measures to rescue the over 200 school girls kidnapped by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, in their school in Chibok, Borno State, in 2014.

Boko Haram had last week released a video of the girls who are still alive and said they were willing to trade the girls in exchange for their members in detention in various prisons.

One of the girls, Maida Yakubu, who also spoke in the video asked their parents to beg the Nigerian government to accede to the demand of Boko Haram so that they would be released.

Speaking during the protest on Monday, the chairman of the Chibok Community, Hosea Tsambido said members of the Community and BBOG voted massively for Buhari as against his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, who they voted for in 2011.

“They tell us that our girls seen in the latest video was merely an arrangement. No one has spoken to the family of any of the Chibok girls since the last video was released, by the terrorists. We regret our votes. We regret it.”

Speaking further, the community leader said, “We were promised that the president would visit Sambisa, after becoming president. We were also told that within two weeks our girls would be rescued.

“But over one year now, there is no tangible statement about our girls. The presidency has stated instead that it is confused.”

The BBOG group said it was embarking on a fresh 14-day campaign to re-energize the clamour for the rescue of the girls.

The protesters who were heading for the Presidential villa to speak with the president as they usually do during their protests, were however, stopped by a combined team of security personnel at the entrance of the three arms zone.

The group said the current administration has ran out of excuses regarding the return of the Chibok girls. “No more excuses,” they chanted several times.

Meanwhile, a pro-Buhari group, the Buhari Media Support Group, (BMSG), had appealed to the “BringBackOurGirls” (BBOG) to shelve today’s demonstration to the Presidential Villa.

The group in a statement by one of its members, Muhammad Labbo, said that was necessary to avoid complications and anything capable of undermining efforts of the government to rescue the girls unharmed.‬

Labbo noted that playing politics with the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls was unhelpful and embarrassing to the government and counterproductive to the silent efforts of the military to rescue them.‬

‪He said the government would take serious exception to the mobilisation of the parents of the kidnapped girls to score political advantage or exploiting the tragedy to play to the gallery.‬

Labbo said dragging the parents of the victims to Abuja for endless demonstrations would only compound a bad situation, and give them the impression that a rescue mission “is as simple as abc.”

‪According to him, the BringBackOur Girls Group should not claim monopoly of patriotism and humanity over the government by seeking to undermine the silent efforts of the military to map out strategies to safely rescue the girls.‬

‪He said if there was a formula for rescuing the girls within 24 hours unharmed, government would have done that, reminding the Bring Back Our Girls group of the complexities and sensitivity of hostage rescue missions.‬

‪”The terrorists have no rules of engagement and therefore, would not mind killing all the hostages if the Nigerian military attempts any rash action,” he said.

We are not sure if Chibok girls are in Sambisa Forest –Air chief

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, says the Nigerian Air Force has no intelligence on whether the Chibok girls are in Sambisa Forest or not.

Abubakar, who spoke during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja on Saturday, however, said the NAF was working round  the  clock to rescue the girls and other Nigerians abducted by Boko Haram.

The NAF chief also commented on the operation of the force in the South-South, saying the air force would not bomb Niger Delta.

When Abubakar was asked if the air force had any intelligence on whether Chibok girls were in the Sambisa Forest or not, he said, “Honestly we don’t. That is the truth of the matter. Even if you see women that are dressed in hijab, how are you sure they are women; that they are not men? It is only when you get there and they remove the hijab that you now realise that they are men and they have their rifles.

“There is no credible intelligence that will specifically tell you that these girls are here.”

He said the air force flew its planes daily with the hope of sighting the Chibok girls, adding that the military, like other Nigerians, was passionate about them.

He said about 50 per cent of the NAF flying missions in counter-insurgency operations were devoted to Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance.

According to him, the ISR is aimed at rescuing the Chibok girls and other Nigerians abducted by the sect.

He said, “There is no day that the sun rises and sets that we do not go out hoping to see these girls. From January this year to August 17, we flew 2,600 hours.   About 50 per cent of that was Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance.

 “We are hoping that through the intelligence, we will be able to capture the movement of those girls; we will be able to locate what we consider legitimate targets.”

He dismissed the latest Boko Haram video, where the sect displayed some girls, which it claimed were killed by military bombardment, as cheap propaganda.

Abubakar explained that there was no way bodies of people killed by bombardment could be intact as shown in the video.

He stated, “Even the IED (improvised explosive device) that they (the sect) developed, have you ever seen a complete body together after an attack on any location?”

He insisted that what was shown in the video could not have been something that happened after an air strike.

He added, “These guys are just trying to whip up sentiment because they know that every Nigerian is concerned about the girls.”

He said although there was no military operation without collateral damage, the air force was doing everything possible to determine legitimate targets.

The air force chief said Sambisa forest, which is about 60,000 square kilometres, was a difficult terrain, especially for the land forces.

He explained that equipment could get stuck in the forest during the rainy season.

He added that with what the air force had seen from its reconnaissance, it was difficult to say that the place was still occupied.

 Abubakar said with the logistics base of the sect destroyed by the air force, it would be easier for land forces to move into the forest during the dry season.

He also disclosed that the air force would soon commence its operations in the South-South.

He stated that the air force would not bomb the Niger Delta, but would protect the people and facilities.

“We are not going to bomb the Niger Delta;  we are going to protect the people and oil and gas infrastructure,” he stated.

 He added that NAF had entered into partnership with 15 Nigerian universities and polytechnics, through which it had been producing spare parts to service grounded aircraft.

He said, “Our aircraft require spare parts from time to time. Since most of these spare parts are not available here, we need to look   inward.”

 BBOG marches to Aso Rock

 The #BringBackOurGirls spokesman, Abdullahi Abdullahi, declined to comment on the air force statement that it had no intelligence on the Chibok girls.

“We don’t have any comment for now,” Abdullahi said on Sunday.

The group and parents of the abducted girls will, however, march to the Presidential Villa today (Monday).

The #BringBackOurGirls movement had, in a statement on Thursday, said it would commence street marches to the Presidential Villa from Monday (today), as part of measures to compel the Federal Government and the global community to take action to ‘‘rescue the 219 Chibok schoolgirls.’’

The group stated that it would also engage the media and other critical stakeholders, including international organisations and statesmen.

The BBOG, in a reminder to journalists on Sunday, explained that the planned march followed the lukewarm response from the government to the video of the girls that was released last week by Boko Haram.

“Areas to be covered during the period of engagement include the #ChibokGirls, the humanitarian crisis in the North-East, corruption in the disbursement of relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons camps and the arms deal saga,” the group stated.

Meanwhile, a civil rights movement, Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism, has demanded that Ahmed Salkida, Aisha Wakil and Ahmed Bolori, who were recently declared wanted by the military authorities, should assist in securing the release of the Chibok girls.

The organisation also appealed to the #Bring Back Our Girls team to direct its protests against Salkida, Wakil and Bolori.

Speaking in Abuja on Sunday, the National Coordinator of CATE, Gabriel Onoja, said  the three personalities named by the military possibly knew more about Boko Haram than the security agencies.

Onoja said, “We are appealing to the trio of Salkida, Wakil and Bolori and other persons with links with Boko Haram to prevail on the abductors of these girls to release them unconditionally.’’

Source: Punch

Escaped Chibok girl: I miss my Boko Haram husband

Amina Ali Nkeki, her husband and their daughter escaped from a Boko Haram camp in May. "I'm not comfortable with the way I'm being kept from him," she told CNN.

 

Escaped Chibok girl Amina Ali Nkeki says she misses her Boko Haram fighter husband and is still thinking about him three months after escaping the militants' camp.

Amina Ali, who was held hostage by the terrorist group for more than two years, says she was married off a year into her ordeal and later had a baby girl, Safiya.

The couple and their daughter were found on the outskirts of Nigeria's Sambisa Forest in May. She says they fled the camp by themselves and were not rescued by the Nigerian military, contrary to reports.

Her husband, identified as Mohammed Hayatu at the time of their escape, told a witness that he too had been kidnapped by Boko Haram.

He was placed in military detention for interrogation by Nigeria's joint intelligence center.

Amina Ali was found with a suspected Boko Haram terrorist named Mohammed Hayatu.

 

Amina Ali says she has no idea where he is now and is keen to be reunited with him.

"I'm not comfortable with the way I'm being kept from him," the painfully shy 21-year-old told CNN in her first worldwide interview, at an undisclosed location in Abuja Tuesday.

Addressing the father of her child directly, she says: "I want you to know that I'm still thinking about you, and just because we are separated doesn't mean I have forgotten about you." 

 

Her statements came two days after the terrorist group released a grisly video showing the dead bodies of young women, taken in the aftermath of what Boko Haram says was a Nigerian airstrike.

Amina Ali says a dozen captives died in a bombing more than a year ago, which suggests that the footage is not new, according to a spokesman for Nigeria's National Security Advisor.

The video also shows a Chibok girl reciting a scripted plea for the release of Boko Haram fighters in exchange for the kidnapped girls.

Amina Ali was one of 276 schoolgirls abducted at gunpoint from their boarding school in Chibok in April 2014, by Boko Haram fighters. As many as 57 girls were able to escape almost immediately, but more than 200 remain missing.

The kidnapping sparked global outrage and prompted global figures, including activist Malala Yousafzai and first lady Michelle Obama, to support the campaign to #BringBackOurGirls.

Amina Ali refuses to talk about the attack, saying only she cannot remember what happened that fateful day.

For a year after they were taken, the abducted girls were kept together, she says. Then some of the teenagers -- including her -- were "given" to the terrorists as wives.

Chibok girl Amina Ali Nkeki (in red), who was kidnapped by Boko Haram, with her baby daughter.

She says she was desperate to see her mother again and that the thought gave her the courage and strength to flee the camp.

Asked how she felt about becoming a mother herself while in captivity, her face clouds over and, speaking through an interpreter, she insists: "I don't want to answer."

 

Her mother has spent the past two months staying with her in the capital. But Amina Ali has still not been back to Chibok and says she wants to go home and return to school.

"I'm not scared of Boko Haram. They are not my God," she said.

Kidnapped Chibok girl meets the President of Nigeria

The whereabouts of the rest of the girls remain a mystery, though they are believed to be somewhere in the Sambisa Forest, a Boko Haram stronghold in the country's northeast.

The current Nigerian government has said via Facebook that it is in touch with Boko Haram and working to secure the girls' release.

Over the past two years, successive Nigerian governments have been criticized for failing to recover the young hostages.

'This is a government which is not only in denial mentally, but in denial about certain obvious steps to take'

Wole Soyinka

"This is a government which is not only in denial mentally, but in denial about certain obvious steps to take," Nigerian author Wole Soyinka, a Nobel laureate who is often referred to as the conscience of his nation, told CNN's Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour in May 2014.

"It's one of those rather child-like situations that if you shut your eyes, if you don't exhibit the tactile evidence of the missing humanity here, that somehow the problem will go away," he said.

Amina Ali remains the only long-held hostage who has escaped.

But she has a defiant message for her "sisters" still being held: Don't lose hope. She managed to get away, she says, and one day they will be able to return to their families too.

"Be patient and prayerful," she said. "The way God rescued me from Sambisa Forest, he will rescue you too."

 

CNN

Buhari’s Government “more clueless” than Jonathan’s – Chibok Parent

Esther Yakubu, One of the mothers of the abducted Chibok girls, Dorcas, has opined that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is  “more clueless than Jonathan’s.”

She lamented after seeing her daughter speak in the new video released by the Boko Haram insurgents demanding swap of their detained members with the Chibok girls.

“The Chibok girls must be rescued, they must have their lives, the future that Boko Haram tries to truncate ”
“I wanted her to have the best of education, I planned to sponsor her education to whatever level she wanted, but she could not sit for her final examinations because she was abducted”.

“Boko Haram in the video asked the government to release their members so that they could release our girls. If the government knows that it cannot handle the insurgency, it should invite other countries. It is not a crime to seek assistance in a war. It is a shame for them to allow our daughters to languish in captivity for over two years.

“I don’t regret sending her to school, but I regret putting her in boarding school. If she was a day student, she would be home with me that night. The abduction affected her because she was in boarding school,” Yakubu added.

She said apart from her daughter, she recognised about 20 other girls.
“I recognised Saratu Ayuba, Awa Ishaiya and others. In that video, Dorcas has grown up a little and she is slimmer. I cried when I saw her in the video. That is only change I observe, but I thank God she is alive.”
Dorcas’ father, Kabu Yakubu, urged the government to release Boko Haram detainees in exchange for the Chibok girls, adding that the demand had boosted his hope that his daughter and others would eventually make it home.

“I will sleep well because since she was kidnapped, I have never seen her in other videos released. But today, I saw her in the video, and my joy was rekindled.
“What we have been telling the government is what Boko Haram demanded in the video. We are appealing to the government to help us to release Boko Haram detainees so they can release our daughters. In the video, my daughter was begging the government to negotiate with the terrorists and they (Boko Haram) said unless the government releases their members who were being detained in Abuja, Lagos and Maiduguri prisons, they won’t release the girls.