Tag: Chibok Girls

Chibok Girls: Presidency Debunks Saldika Claims

The Presidency has dismissed Ahmed Salkida’s latest information that only 15 of the remaining 113 abducted Chibok schoolgirls in captivity of Boko Haram were believed to be alive.

Sakilda, a Nigerian journalist believed to be based in Dubai and self-acclaimed negotiator in the Chibok girls saga, had made this disclosure in a series of tweets posted on his handle, @ContactSalkida, on Saturday.

He said the 15 surviving girls had been married off, “indoctrinated and might no longer be interested in returning home.

Salkida, who claimed to be part of the negotiating team for the release of the girls since the era of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, enjoined the Buhari administration to “demand for proof of life, as it carries out negotiations to secure the release of the remaining girls still in captivity”.

However, Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, debunked Salkida’s claims in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

The presidential aide stated that Salkida was neither involved in the processes that resulted in the release of the over 100 Chibok girls nor in the ongoing efforts to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls in captivity.

He said: “Following the numerous press enquiries on the information contained in the series of tweets by Mr Ahmed Salkida, we wish to reiterate that the information is not known to the officials of this administration either from the captors of the Chibok girls or the international intercessors who are working with us.

“We wish to confirm that Mr Salkida is not involved, on behalf of the Nigerian government in the processes leading to the release of the over 100 Chibok Girls that have returned to their families, so far, and is not involved in the current processes to secure the release of those still held in captivity.’’

It would be recalled that President Buhari had on Friday reassured the parents of the schoolgirls that were abducted from Government Girls Secondary School Chibok, Borno, that “their daughters will never be forgotten or abandoned to their fate”.

The President, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja, noted that in spite of the four long years since they were taken away by terrorists, the government would continue its efforts to ensure their safe return to their respective homes.

He joined the Borno government, parents of the children and Nigerians in commemorating the fourth anniversary of the sad incident.

He also noted that the recovery of more than 100 of the girls that were kidnapped through the Federal Government’s determined effort should give confidence that all “hope is not lost”.

The President re-affirmed that the government remained focused and determined to see the girls return to their homes.

He therefore, urged the parents to be expectant of more good news in due course.

“We are concerned and aware that it is taking long to bring the rest of our daughters back home, but be assured that this administration is doing its very best to free the girls from their captors.

“Unfortunately, the negotiations between the government and Boko Haram suffered some unexpected setbacks, owing mainly to a lack of agreement among their abductors whose internal differences have led to a divergence of voices regarding the outcome of the talks.

“We know that this is not the news parents want to hear after four whole years of waiting, but we want to be as honest as possible with you.

“However, this government is not relenting. We will continue to persist, and the parents should please not give up.

”Don’t give up hope of seeing our daughters back home again. Don’t lose faith in this government’s ability to fulfill our promise of reuniting you with our daughters.

“Don’t imagine for a moment that we have forgotten about our daughters or that we consider their freedom a lost course,’’ the President said.

According to him, as long as he remains the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces the Chibok girls will never be forgotten and all will be done to have them reunited with their families.

Chibok Girls: Four Years, 119 Still Kept in Abduction

Today (Saturday) marked four years since Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from the remote town of Chibok, with renewed calls for their release and that of thousands of others seized in the bloody conflict.

A total of 219 girls were taken from the Government Girls Secondary School in the remote town in Borno state on the evening of April 14, 2014 and have become an enduring symbol of the Islamist insurgency.

Four years on, 112 are still being held.

On Friday night, about 100 people attended a vigil in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, under a busy flyover whose pillars are now adorned with brightly painted murals of the missing girls.

“We are here to show (the) government that we are still missing our sisters,” Zakaria Galang, a brother of one of the students who is yet to return, told AFP.

Further events are planned in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday.

Nigeria’s president in 2014, Goodluck Jonathan, was heavily criticised for his response to the abduction but the man who replaced him, Muhammadu Buhari, has had more success.

Since 2016, 107 girls have been found, released or escaped as part of a government deal with Boko Haram and the administration has said back-channel talks are ongoing for further releases and a possible end to the wider conflict.

Another activist, Habiba Balogun, said she hoped that would happen after nearly nine years of violence that has left at least 20,000 dead and made more than 2.6 million homeless.

“The government has said that they are ready to negotiate; they want to bring this nightmare to an end,” she said.

Buhari pledged to the Chibok girls’ parents that their daughters “will never be forgotten or abandoned to their fate” despite the time that had passed.

The former military ruler has repeatedly claimed Boko Haram was virtually defeated but while there have been clear army gains, security threats remain.

In February, fighters loyal to a Boko Haram faction headed by Abu Mus’ab al-Barnawi seized 112 schoolgirls and one boy from the town of Dapchi, in Yobe state.

One hundred and seven were returned in mid-March. Five reportedly died, while one girl — the only Christian in the group — is still being held.

Buhari said the return of so many students from Dapchi and Chibok “should give confidence that all hope is not lost” and showed the government was “doing its very best”.

There had been “unexpected setbacks” in talks because of infighting within Boko Haram.

But he added: “We will continue to persist, and the parents should please not give up. Don’t give up hope of seeing our daughters back home again.”

Boko Haram has used kidnapping as a weapon of war during the conflict, seizing women and girls to act as sex slaves or suicide bombers, and men and boys to fight.

UNICEF said this week more than 1,000 children had been verified as abducted in northeast Nigeria since 2013, although the real figure is estimated to be much higher.

Amnesty International’s Nigeria director, Osai Ojigho, said the Chibok abduction was a small part of a bigger issue.

The government needed to deliver “meaningful action on behalf of all these victims of Boko Haram’s crimes”.

“Far more support must also be provided for past victims,” she said, proposing a register for abducted people.

The International Crisis Group meanwhile said the copycat abduction in Dapchi showed more needed to be done to protect schoolchildren in the restive region.

“The abductions illustrate that Boko Haram remains a menace to swathes of northeast Nigeria,” it added in a report published on Thursday.

“They throw into doubt the government’s claim to have defeated the movement; instead, insurgents may be newly emboldened to keep fighting.

“The kidnappings cast a pall over education, particularly of girls, and thus the prospects for socio-economic development of the region.”

Why Remaining Chibok Girls Are In Captivity – President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said the remaining girls abducted by terrorists from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, four years ago were still in captivity because of some setbacks in the negotiation between the Federal Government and the Boko Haram sect.

He attributed the setbacks to what he described as internal disagreement among the abductors.

Buhari said this in a statement made available to journalists by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

The President said, “We are concerned and aware that it is taking longer to bring the rest of our daughters back home, but be assured that this administration is doing its very best to free the girls from their captors.

“Unfortunately, the negotiations between the government and Boko Haram suffered some unexpected setbacks, owing mainly to a lack of agreement among their abductors, whose internal differences have led to a divergence of voices regarding the outcome of the talks.

“We know that this is not the news parents want to hear after four whole years of waiting, but we want to be as honest as possible with you.

“However, this government is not relenting. We will continue to persist, and the parents should please not give up. Don’t give up hope of seeing our daughters back home again. Don’t lose faith in this government’s ability to fulfil our promise of reuniting you with your daughters.

“Don’t imagine for a moment that we have forgotten about our daughters or that we consider their freedom a lost cause.”

Buhari gave the assurance Nigerians that as long as he remained the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the Chibok girls would never be forgotten and everything would be done to reunite them with their families.

He also assured the parents of the schoolgirls that “their daughters will never be forgotten or abandoned to their fate, despite four long years since they were taken away by terrorists.’’

Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund has disclosed that more than 1,000 children have been abducted by Boko Haram in the North-East since 2013, including 276 Chibok schoolgirls taken from their school on April 14, 2014.

The UN agency noted that four years on, more than 100 of the Chibok girls had yet to be returned to their families. It restated its calls for the release of all hostages in Boko Haram custody.

The UNICEF in a statement on Thursday by its representative in Nigeria, Mohammed Fall, disclosed that 2,295 teachers had been killed and more than 1,400 schools destroyed in nine years by the insurgents, noting that most of the schools had not been re-opened.

“The fourth anniversary of the Chibok abduction reminds us that children in northeastern Nigeria continue to come under attack on a shocking scale. They are consistently targeted and exposed to brutal violence in their homes, schools and public places,” it said.

In a similar vein, ActionAid Nigeria has expressed solidarity with the families, friends and the Chibok community over the remaining Chibok schoolgirls in Boko Haram captivity.

The Country Director of AAN, Ene Obi, said in a statement, “The FG and the military should adopt intelligence, power and negotiation as deployed for the release of the Dapchi girls, to bring back the remaining 113 missing Chibok girls and the remaining Dapchi girl, Leah Shuaibu.”

History Is Repeating Itself- Wole Soyinka

 

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has admitted that history might just be repeating itself on the issue of the Dapchi school girls adoption.

While speaking at a dialogue organized by Ripples Center for Data and Investigative Journalism in Lagos, Soyinka revealed the reaction of former Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan to the abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok during his tenure.

Soyinka said Jonathan told him that the abduction of the schoolgirls was his own business and he should deal with it. He said Jonathan believed the opposition was using the abduction to discredit his government, and it wasn’t until three weeks after the incident that Jonathan acknowledged that over 200 girls had indeed been abducted in Chibok, Borno state.

Soyinka said:

“I reached out to former President Jonathan, and protested, chiding him severely on his reaction over the abduction of the Chibok girls. I said to him; ‘you want to be accepted as a political leader, and you do not even accept as your duty to be there, at the scene of the disaster?’ And I asked him, did you actually utter those words attributed to you?  His response remains a riddle to me till today.”

He continued: “His exact words to me, not easily forgotten I assure you, were ‘Kampala tie niyen,’ meaning that is your own Kampala.”

With history repeating itself in Dapchi where schoolgirls were recently abducted, Soyinka said that rather than visiting the affected areas, Buhari should speak to people’s security needs, and bring perpetrators to book. He said that failure on the part of government has been the reason the country is yet to get over the security challenges.

 

From Chibok To Dapchi! By SOC Okenwa

When President Muhammadu Buhari was campaigning in 2015, after three failed consecutive attempts, to be elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria he was convinced as many Nigerians did of his tested capacity to bring about change to a system — then broken and rotten. Through the All Progressives Congress (APC) coalition he had presented his manifesto to our people harping on re-establishing security, revamping the economy and providing employment for the teeming jobless youths among us. Almost three years down the line the ruling APC policies and programmes seem to be headed to a mitigated general outcome.

Today, just a year before the next general elections, Nigerians are daily expressing fears about the deterioration in their living conditions, the ubiquitous security challenges, the mounting unemployment and the economic acrobatic dance. While we recognise that President Buhari has given the top job his best shot thus far given the national institutional and infrastructural challenges he inherited the truth is self-evident that the federal leadership machine is not functioning at full steam.

For one, Transparency International (TI) had recently released its global 2017 Corruption Perception Index in which Nigeria was ranked poorly at 148th position out of 180 countries considered! What that meant was that despite the anti-graft propaganda of the ruling party and the heroic efforts of the EFCC much still needed to be done to save Nigeria from itself.

Of course it is not untrue that the present federal government has done more than any other democratic government before it came on board in terms of battling graft but the TI shocking rating poured cold water on our vaunted campaign at fighting corruption at the state and national levels. ‘Mr Integrity’ in Abuja Aso Villa seems to be finding it more and more difficult prosecuting the much-vaunted war on graft.

Alas corruption has proven to be a ‘Nigerian’, a hard nut to crack — even for a retired General whose integrity is widely-acknowledged. For another, the Boko Haram armed and dangerous insurgency up north has refused to ‘die’ despite the federal sledge hammer being used to try to crush the terrorist group. And when you add the menacing marauding Fulani herdsmen to the mix then you can conclude that the Buhari presidency is indeed challenged on many fronts security-wise. The Daura man of the Jackboot never envisaged it this way as he sought to change the way we see Nigeria and do things.

Yes, it is not false a claim that the fugitive Abubakar Shekau and his misguided criminal elements had seen their command and control mechanism degraded or damaged yet they have refused doggedly to capitulate. Technically beaten or strategically castrated militarily Boko Haram has proven to be a formidable fighting force with the fiscal, military and organisational wherewithal to withstand the federal assault.

After the Chibok school girls’ abduction imbroglio few years ago here comes another spectacular mass kidnapping in yet another female academic institution in Dapchi, Yobe state. The Dapchi Government Girls’ Science Technical College was not known to many Nigerians until now. While the Chibok incident drew global news headlines the present frightening episode in Dapchi has brought Nigeria another round of opprobrium at home and abroad. The sad news was broken to me by the RFI (Radio France Internationale).

The number of Chibok girls missing at the time of their abduction was said to be close to 300 and now we are being told that the missing Dapchi girls is estimated to be more than a hundred! No one has been found so far. But it is not surprising in any way though. Nigeria is reputed to be a country where on a daily basis innocent blood is shed with no one shedding any tears and governments doing nothing. Life is worth almost nothing!

Days after the Dapchi evil ‘rapture’ of the young ‘Eves’ the Governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Gaidam, was quoted online as saying that some of the girls had been found. It later proved to be a deliberate lie told to deceive the restive population. The state government had issued a damage-control press statement explaining itself and apologising for the gaffe. According to the statement the Governor told the lie he told based on an “unreliable” information at his disposal then! It accused an unnamed member of a security force fighting the BH for supplying the unverified, yet verifiable, information.

But it goes beyond clarifications or apology or both. The questions persist as parents of the missing girls lament the abrupt departure to the unknown of their loved ones. Pray, how could a state Chief Executive have committed such duplicity? Must he have believed the source easily? What if the same source had told him that he had shot dead Shekau in Damaturu GRA as he was about to bomb the Government House would he have also believed him?

If it were to be in other saner climes Governor Gaidam would have since resigned his executive position or been impeached by the state legislators in the event of any exhibition of intransigence. But Nigeria remains Nigeria where resignation is a ‘taboo’ and gubernatorial impeachment a rarity.

The solution to the Dapchi kidnapping, as embarrassing as it might be, does not lie in releasing the already tried and condemned BH criminals in exchange for the missing girls’ freedom. Or in paying huge ransom in the neighbourhood of millions of Dollars as ‘bribe’ for the girls to be set free. Such a deal encourages Shekau to continue prospering in his murderous mission. The military establishment and other security agencies must get cracking by doing the job (protecting lives and property) for which they are remunerated.

It is a national tragedy that another Chibok was allowed to happen even when some of the abducted Chibok girls had not been accounted for. Allowing the Dapchi damsels to visit BH ‘hell’ and back amounts to cruelty of the worst kind. They deserved better in a rich nation as ours.

The major problem faced by Buharism as 2019 approaches is that the Dapchi abduction may well define or re-define his presidency much like that of GEJ. Whether he succeeds or fails to consolidate power next year history and posterity would never forget to remember his actions or inactions toward the Boko Haram terrorism and their numerous exploits nationwide under his command.

Kidnapper Of Chibok Girls Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison

One of the abductors of the Chibok girls Haruna Yahaya has been sentenced by a Federal High Court in Kainji to 15 years in prison, at the resumed trials of Boko Haram suspects. He was among 20 Boko Haram terrorists who were jailed yesterday to serve various prison terms.

Yahaya, 35, who is physically challenged, was found guilty of taking part in the abduction of over 200 girls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in April, 2014. The closed trial is taking place at Wawa Catonment, Kainji, Niger State.

Yahaya, a former trader from Potiskum, Yobe State had pleaded for mercy, claiming he was conscripted into the terrorist sect.

Earlier, defence counsel, Matthew Egege asked the court to discharge Yahaya, pleading that his testimony is pathetic. He argued that as a conscript he could have been killed if he had refused the sect’s orders.

But the judge said he could not use his physical condition to win sympathy, adding that he had a choice not to participate in the Boko Haram activities even though he was forced. He was charged under the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011.

The court ruled that Haruna Yahaya will serve the term in any prison facility, to be determined by the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Prisons Service.

The other 19 convicts were sentenced to between three and five years from date of their arrest.

The verdicts were given at the resumed fast track trial of Boko Haram suspects being detained in the location. Over 700 detainees will appear before the court during the trial.

Last year, over 50 Boko Haram members were convicted by the court, while over 400 were released for lack of evidence.

Yayaya yesterday gave an account of how he participated in the abduction of over 200 girls in Chibok, Borno State.

Yahaya admitted to have killed a number of citizens in Gabsuri and Chibok towns in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State, after he claimed the sect members forcefully conscripted him.

He claimed that during the operation at the secondary school in Chibok in April 2014, he was forced to carry an AK47 rifle. He said he usually tied the weapon to his functional arm with index fingers at the trigger.

He said on the day of the operation, while the insurgents ransacked the school and abducted the boarding students, who were preparing for WAEC examinations, one of them, whom he later had a love affair with, pleaded with him for mercy.

“I told the girl that I am not in a position to help because I too was forcefully conscripted into the operation,” he said.

He further told the court that he sent for wrapper to be bought for the girl while in their camp, when he realised she had no wrapper. He added that he at one time contemplated escaping with the girl.

He said he was eventually arrested by members of the Civilian Joint Taskforce (CJTF) during an operation.

Meanwhile, the court had discharged another suspect, Malam Umar, who was fingered as a Boko Haram provisions supplier by sect members arrested by the CJTF.

The court accepted his explanation that he did not know he supplied food items to a Boko Haram middle man who paid him N300, 000 and 100 Euro for the supplies.

In a statement yesterday signed by Othman Salihu Isah, the Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF)and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN),said there are about 1, 669 suspects held at the facility, while 468 were discharged for lack of evidence. They will undergo a programme of de-radicalisation at the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).

The statement said 82 persons entered plea of guilty to secure lesser sentence.

In a brief ceremony, a lead judge of the Federal High Court said about 700 Boko Haram suspects have been processed for the current exercise, and solicited for the cooperation of the representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Legal Aid Council, the National Human Rights Commission, staff of the Ministry of Justice and the media, who were part of the exercise.

In his remarks, the Director, legal services at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Shafi’i said the programme is a very important process for Nigeria in its effort to tackle the challenges of insurgency.

He stressed that the Nigerian military will continue to respect the human rights of citizens in its bid to secure the country.

“This judicial process has never been done anywhere in the world,” he said.

 

13 Chibok Girls Die In Boko Haram Custody

Snake bite, hunger and malaria have killed thirteen of the 276 Chibok schoolgirls in Boko Haram custody.

The girls were kidnapped from their school in Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram in 2014.

Of the 276 kidnapped schoolgirls, 163 are now free; while 57 fled in the early days after their abduction, three more escaped later, and a Swiss-coached mediation secured 103.

The Wall Street Journal, WSJ, reports that 13 of the girls have lost their lives during their nearly three years in Boko Haram custody.

WSJ report said, “Of the remaining 113, at least 13 have died, officials say.

“Some were felled by malaria, hunger or a snake bite.

“The majority died in airstrikes. Among those forcibly married to fighters, at least two died in childbirth.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had, after the release of the last batch of the girls numbering 82, promised to ensure the last of the girls returned home to the families.

Hope For Chibok Girls As Buhari Approves Payment Of Tuition

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved payment of N164.8m for the second semester school fees for the freed 106 Chibok girls currently schooling in the American University of Nigeria, AUN, Yola.

This was revealed yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu on Sunday.

This is just as he renewed Buhari’s commitment to ensure that all the Chibok girls still held hostage by the Boko Haram terrorists are returned to their parents safely.

“In line with, the President has approved payment of the sum of N164,763,759 (one hundred and sixty four million, seven hundred and sixty-three naira) for the second semester school fees of the 106 Chibok girls at the American University of Nigeria, AUN in Yola,” the statement read.
“Absorption of the 106 girls into the school marked the beginning of their integration into the larger Nigerian society, thus fulfilling President Buhari’s promise of providing the best education for them. Although they have been officially handed over to their parents. The Federal Government will continue to be responsible for the payment of the Chibok girls’ school fees right up to their graduation from the school,” Shehu further noted.

The President also restated his resolve to protect the lives of all Nigerians and end the insurgency in the northeast of the country in fulfillment of the campaign promises.

 

Chibok Girls Begin Four Months Remedial Studies

Over 200 Chibok girls were adopted in 2014, and over 3 years later a total of 106 have been released. The 106 freed Chibok schoolgirls Tuesday embarked on a four-month remedial and integration programme to prepare them for regular ordinary level academic activities in September.

At an emotional ceremony on Tuesday, the Department of State Services (DSS) formally handed the girls to the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Aisha Alhassan and representatives of international agencies, United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA) and The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The girls, who were released in two batches following an internationally-brokered prisoner- swap deal with Boko Haram insurgency group, would be camped at the Women Development Centre, Abuja for the duration of the rehabilitation and remedial course.

The facility was given after a thorough check ordered on Monday by the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole.
Before they were admitted to the center, the girls did a series of tests at the Federal Staff Clinic.
The Director Medical, DSS, Dr. Ann Okoroafor, handed the girls over to Alhassan after the second batch comprising the recently released 84 schoolgirls, were investigated and profiled.

Though some of the girls are still having medical issues, Okoroafor said they were psychologically stable.
At the centre, they would undergo psychotherapy to let them overcome the trauma of the physical and mental abuse they were subjected to while in the captivity of Boko Haram since April 2014.

Alhassan said they would receive compulsory training in ICT plus vocational skills in two trades, while the remedial course would in five courses, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Agricultural Science and Civil Education.

They will also participate in games, drama, literary and debate, competitions in addition to several cultural exchanges.
She, however, insisted that their social engagements would be curtailed from public scrutiny as government would not want to turn the girls into celebrities and accord them special treatment over other Nigerians.

The minister stressed that the camp will close down in September at the beginning of the school year, when the federal government is expected to formally hand over the girls to their parents and guardians.

“After the therapy and remedial course, we will enroll them in any schools of their preference in Nigeria after which they will go back to their community. If we keep them beyond September, and we want they will lose an entire school year want to avoid that instance,” Alhassan said.

The centre will handle their medical cases while the cases that cannot be handled in-house house will be referred to the DSS Heath Centre and the Federal Staff Clinic.
It was gathered that two medical doctors and two nurses would be attached to them, while there is a request for a standby ambulance in the case of emergency.

The girls will stay two in a room and for their education, they will be spletted be split into four classes. Overall 20 teachers specialising in all specified disciplines will be involved, while each classroom will boast of five teachers.

Alhassan said they had the voluntary consent of the Chibok girls and their parents to keep them at the centre.
She added that any of the girls that wished to be withdrawn immediately from the programme would be released in respect of her wish.
Eugene Kongnyug was represented the UNFPA, while Dr. Nicholas Audifferen represented the acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, at the occasion.

Chibok Girls Were Used To Destroy Jonathan’s Image – LP Alleges

The Labour Party Group has rejected the believe that some girls of Government Secondary School, in Chibok town, Borno State were kidnapped after all.

Rather, it was said that it was a plot to oust the former President Goodluck Jonathan from office.

The party said the wrath of God would be visited on the All Progressives Congress (APC) for manipulating Nigerians about their abduction.

In a statement, national chairman of the LP, Abdulkadir Abdulsalami, said the APC should expect the wrath of God for deceiving Nigerians and manipulating the parents of the Chibok girls.

The national chairman said the government should not claim credit “for what they have packaged, pre-arranged and now executing”.

He said the government has worsened the suffering of Nigerians and if President Muhammadu Buhari does not leave office, nothing good should be expected from his administration.

“The government should expect the wrath of God for deceiving Nigerians and manipulating the parents of the Chibok girls. The release of the Chibok girls is a fluke and an ordinary abracadabra. If by this time, they claimed to have captured Sambisa forest, from which another forest will they say they have brought these girls,” Abdulsalami said.

“I think Nigerians need to be told the truth by our leaders if they want sympathy from Almighty God, what happened to the Chibok girls. By the time we get to May 29 next year (2018), they will now release all the remaining girls to say they have fought the war, they have won the war.

“But the fact of the matter, as I have been saying before, during and after the campaign for the 2015 general elections, is that these Chibok girls were not kidnapped by any Boko Haram. They were prepared and arranged to destroy the image and administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

“The present government has worsened the suffering of Nigerians. We have suffered enough, and if Buhari doesn’t leave office, Nigerians should expect worse repercussions from the government.”

Abdulsalami said that if the APC lacks the capacity to lead, the party should step aside and let a responsible government take over.

“And if they don’t have the capacity, let them get away from government. The APC should step aside and let a responsible government take over the administration of Nigeria. You can’t talk of the government without bringing in APC. Buhari came on the platform of change, using deceit in all its programmes,” he said.

Presidency: Freed Girl Not One Of 219 Chibok Schoolgirls

The presidency thursday retracted its announcement that another Chibok girl was free, saying she was not one of the 219 whose kidnapping more than three years ago caused global outrage.

The presidency said on Wednesday evening that the teenager was picked up by the military after fleeing from Boko Haram jihadists.
But Laolu Akande, spokesman to the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, later tweeted that the girl was a junior secondary school “student from Chibok community.”

In a text message to AFP thursday, he said the 15-year-old was “not part of the 219.”

Osinbajo is currently deputising for President Muhammadu Buhari, who is in London on medical leave.

In the Nigerian education system, junior secondary school is for pupils aged between 10 and 15. The 219 Chibok girls were in their final year of senior secondary school (SSS3).

The #BringBackOurGirls group, which has been campaigning for the release of the Chibok girls, also said the girl’s name was not in their records.
“We’ve perused our list but can’t find the name of the returnee said to be 1 of our #ChibokGirls,” it said on its Twitter account.

“Whether 1 of our missing #ChibokGirls or not, we are excited over everyone who regains their freedom & we look forward to all returning.”

Boko Haram kidnapped 276 students from the Government Girls Secondary School in the remote town in Borno state on the evening of April 14, 2014.
Fifty-seven escaped in the hours that followed but 219 were not so lucky. Since then, 106 girls have been found, rescued or released, including 82 who were freed earlier this month in a prisoner swap deal for a number of Boko Haram suspects in custody.

In May 2016, just hours after the first Chibok girl was found, the military said a second had been rescued. The girl later turned out to be a younger student at the same school, who was also kidnapped but not part of the 219.
Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of young women and girls during its eight-year insurgency to establish a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.

Young men and boys have also been forcibly recruited to fight in the jihadists’ ranks