The build-up of an international coalition
ready to assist Nigeria in locating and rescuing the more than 200
schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram terrorists
three weeks ago got a boost, yesterday, as France and China and Canada
joined the United States and the United Kingdom in the search and rescue
operation.
Both the US and the UK had earlier given their word to President Goodluck Jonathan to assist Nigeria.
The
abduction of the girls had triggered series of protests across Nigeria
and in some other countries, with protesters demanding that world
leaders should take drastic actions to rescue the girls. The Twitter
hash-tag,‘#BringBackOurGirls’, put together to push the rescue of the
girls, is trending globally, with prominent world leaders lending their
voice and support to the demand for their freedom.
France joins rescue efforts
France, yesterday, offered to send security service agents to Nigeria to help recover the abducted girls. Reuters quoted
French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius as telling French lawmakers
that “the President has instructed that we put the intelligence services
at the disposal of Nigeria and neighbouring countries. This morning he
asked us to contact the Nigerian President to tell him that a
specialised unit with all the means we have in the region was at the
disposal of Nigeria to help find and recover these young girls.”
He added: “In the face of such ignominy, France must react. This crime cannot be left unpunished,” Fabius said.
With
more than 4,000 troops operating between Mali to the west and Central
African Republic to the east, Paris has a major interest in preventing
Nigeria’s security situation from deteriorating, having previously
voiced concerns that Boko Haram could spread further north into the
Sahel.
China pledges support
The
Peoples’ Republic of China has also offered to assist in the effort to
rescue the abducted girls. Special Adviser to the President on Media and
Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati in a statement, yesterday, said Chinese
Premier, Li Keqiang conveyed the assurance of China to President
Jonathan yesterday. According to the statement, “in talks with President
Jonathan earlier today, Premier Li Keqiang promised that his country
will make any useful information acquired by its satellites and
intelligence services available to Nigeria’s security agencies.
“Mr.
Keqiang assured the President that China will support Nigeria’s fight
against terrorism in every possible way, including the training of
military personnel for anti-insurgency operations”.
Canada to supply equipment
Canada on its part will supply surveillance equipment to help Nigeria find the girls.
According to Jason MacDonald, a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in an e-mail, “Canada will provide surveillance equipment and the technical expertise to operate it.”
MacDonald was responding to an earlier report that the Jonathan government had asked Canada to provide surveillance equipment
in the wake of the kidnap by the Boko Haram terrorists. Canada’s
Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird had also said, “we’ve offered
support to the Nigerian government. If Canada has surveillance equipment that is not in the region that could provide assistance to find these young girls, we’d obviously be pleased to provide it.”
Meanwhile,
the US Pentagon is sending no fewer than 10 military troops to Nigeria
as part of the U.S. effort to help find the kidnapped girls. A Pentagon
spokesman said officials have no plans now to launch any military
operations. Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said the troops will be
arriving in a few days as part of the larger U.S. assistance team to
include State Department and Justice Department personnel. The military
members will help with communications, logistics and intelligence
planning.
Police offer N50m reward for information
Meanwhile,
the Nigeria Police Force, yesterday, announced a mouth-watering cash
reward of N50 million to anyone who volunteered credible information
that could lead to the rescue of the over 200 girls of Government Girls
Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, abducted recently by Boko Haram insurgents.
It assured all citizens that any information given would be treated anonymously and with utmost confidentiality.
The Force urged all patriotic citizens with such useful information to contact the following numbers:
09-2914649, 08081777309, 08055547536, 08032125050, 08034617591, and 08035969731.
Military vows to rescue girls
The
Defence Headquarters has also assured protesters from different parts
of the country that it was treating the issue of the abduction of the
girls as a special test case, pointing out that the military was
committed to bringing back the girls.
Director,
Defence Information, Major-General Chris Olukolade, made the disclosure
to the media and scores of protesters after a closed door meeting
between selected leaders of a protest group that stormed DHQ and top
officers of Defence headquarters.
According to Olukolade, the “Nigerian military is freshly committed to finding the girls.
“Let
me assure the Nigerian public that the best will be done to bring back
our girls safe and alive. Please, keep supporting us, keep praying
along. We will get results very soon.”
One
of the leaders of the protesting group, Dr Jibrin Ibrahim, in his
response, said: “The key outcome of the interaction we had is that the
priority for this nation, for the military and for us, the civil society
is to bring back our girls.
“They have
committed to intensifying their efforts, but above all to produce
results in the shortest possible time. They have briefed us fully about
the activities they have engaged in, a lot of which we do not want to
reveal in the open.
“I want to assure you
that the very clear message we got from them is that their engagement
is serious, is being escalated and is focused on the objective of
bringing back our girls alive and safe.”
Northern CAN slams Borno Gov
Meantime,
the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria has accused the Borno
State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima and the authorities of Government
Girl Secondary School in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State of conspiracy against the abducted girls and the people of Nigeria.
A
statement jointly signed by the Secretary-General and the Public
Relations Officer of the Association, Prof. Daniel Babayi and Elder
Sunday Oibe respectively, in Abuja, also demanded explanation from
Governor Shettima to some issues it raised.
The
body maintained that the abandonment of the abducted girls was a
confirmation of the persecution Christians in the North had been
suffering from authorities of various states in the region, accusing the
state government of playing politics with the lives of Nigerians.
They
said: “The Governor and government of Borno State should and must, as a
matter of urgency, stop playing politics with the lives of the children
of other people. They should produce those children without delay
because they know their whereabouts.
“We demand an explanation from the Governor, Commissioner for Education, Principal and CSO of the school
on what they did and what they did not do that led to the ferrying away
of these innocent children who went to sit for an examination for the
betterment of their tomorrow.
“How come
that the parents of these children have not been able to come out and
say anything? Are they saying that these children are orphans and do not
have parents? We demand an explanation because from our investigation,
parents of these children are facing intimidation and threats from the
government of Borno State. That is why they could not come out to speak;
but they are nursing their pains in silence.
“We also demand that the Federal Government
and the international community should help us beg the Governor of
Borno State to do everything within his powers to produce these
children.”
“We also reject a situation where they will turn our daughters
to sex slaves of these criminals called Boko Haram members. We have it
on good authority that some of these children are being raped 15 times a
day.
“Borno State government should be reminded that the fundamental human rights of these people should be respected and protected.
“The
Governor should provide immediate explanation because we know that some
people want to sacrifice these children on the altar of politics.”
There is a limit to which Christians would tolerate all these abnormalities.
“We
suspect a conspiracy among all of these characters including the
Governor, Commissioner for Education, Principal and CSO since none of
the daughters of the teachers and Principal were abducted.”
Northern CAN also demanded explanation to some questions it raised after much deliberation on the matter.
The statement continued “It may interest Nigerians to know that we have fundamental questions which demand one million answers:
“Since
the abduction of these girls over two weeks ago, has Borno State
Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, constituted any panel of investigation
with a view to making its report public?
“How did the 353 female students disappear from the school into the thin air?
“Why
did the Borno State Commissioner for Education, Principal,
Vice-Principal and Chief Security Officer, all Muslims, ignore the valid
advice of WAEC on the security implication of writing exams in the school and the need to have a centre where the children’s life will be secured?
“How
did Boko Haram carry over 200 students and their food stolen by these
criminals from the school? Was it carried with trailer?
“Why is it that since this issue came up, no single photograph of the abducted children was made public by the school
authorities? After all, they were preparing for exams and may have
submitted their photographs.”Where were the daughters of the Principal,
Vice Principal and Chief Security Officer when the abduction took place?
“We
hope that this is not a political gimmick to carry out a political
conspiracy against these daughters of Nigerians, future mothers of
Nigeria and citizens who are to be leaders of tomorrow.
“So
these are the questions; we have done our investigations, we are
begging the international community, we are begging the Federal
Government of Nigeria and the press to ask these legitimate questions
from the Governor, Commissioner for Education, Principal and CSO of the school because Chibok is a predominantly Christian area.
“What
we are after is the safety and future of these children, whether they
are Christians or Muslims or our enemies doesn’t matter. They are
Nigeria’s, first and foremost.”
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