Service chiefs vow to bring back Chibok schoolgirls

Service Chiefs

THE service chiefs, yesterday, said the abducted Chibok schoolgirls will be rescued and the war against insurgency won, while endorsing the Presidential Fact Finding Committee on the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls.
Badeh, Defence Chief; Minimah, Army Chief; Amosu, Airforce Chief and Jibrin, Naval Chief
They noted that the committee, by its terms of reference, would help reveal to the world an accurate account of the mass kidnap that had roused global outrage and precipitated the offer of help from some major powers.
The service chiefs spoke when members of the committee held an intensive interaction with the top brass of the military in Abuja yesterday.
Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, at the occasion thanked members of the committee for taking on the assignment, saying that the task of the committee would give them some relief if it could deliver on its mandate.
He said: “It will give us respite if you are able to get to the root of all that has happened.
“Everybody thinks this war is for the military alone. It is a war for all of us. Soldiers do not fight wars on their own. It is a nation that goes to war.”
He expressed the hope that with current efforts and support, “we shall win the war and bring back our girls.”
While thanking the service chiefs for the insight provided, the Chairman of the Fact finding Committee, Gen. Sabo (rtd.), frowned at the disparagement of the country’s Armed Forces, and commiserated with the services on the officers that lost their lives in the fight against terrorism.
In a separate meeting with the Department of State Services, DSS, its Director General, Mr. Ekoenyong Ita, gave a detailed brief on the department’s anti-terrorism efforts, which he said had led to several arrests and the bust of terror threats and plots.
On the Chibok abduction, Ita dispelled the notion of inadequate intelligence gathering as a factor hindering the fight against terror.
“We have gone beyond the lack of intelligence. If we didn’t have intelligence, we would not get the Nyanya bombers,” he said.
While, urging Nigerians to be patient, Mr. Ita gave assurance on the safe return of the abducted schoolgirls. “We will get these girls,” he said. “If we can get the people who bombed Nyanya, we will get the girls,” he assured.

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Breaking News : Northern leaders back FG deal with Boko Haram over kidnapped Chibok Schoolgirls

Chibok Girls

As the Federal Government explores ways of rescuing the girls seized by terrorists from their school in Chibok, Borno State, over a month ago, two northern groups have said that there is nothing wrong with the plan by the government to negotiate with the insurgents in order to free the captives.

Chairman of the Northern Elders Council, NEC, Alhaji Tanko Yakassi, and the National Coordinator of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, NPAPB, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, in separate interviews with Vanguard yesterday, threw their weight behind the plan by the Federal Government to dialogue with the sect in a bid to free the more than 200 girls in its custody.
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan has rejected the idea of a swap of Boko Haram prisoners for the schoolgirls, Britain’s Minister for Africa said after talks with him in Abuja, yesterday.
“He made it very clear that there would be no negotiations with Boko Haram that involved a swap of abducted schoolgirls for prisoners,” Mark Simmonds told a news conference.
The northern leaders, who are delegates to the ongoing National Conference, said the Federal Government had no option than to negotiate in good faith with the sect to return the children to their parents and end their agony.
He said: “As far as we are concerned, discussion with the group is a step in the right direction. There is no substitute to dialogue. What we want in this country is peace.”
The leader of NPAPB, Mohammed, said that despite the provocation by Boko Haram, the Federal Government should seize the offer made by the sect and dialogue in utmost good faith to free the children.
According to Mohammed, the attention of the Federal Government and men of goodwill should be focussed on securing the release of the children unharmed and returning them to their parents.
The Second Republic politician, who described Boko Haram as a repugnant group that does not represent the interest of anyone, asked the government to learn lessons from what the sect had done in recent years and bring it to an end.
While welcoming the assistance of the United States of America, USA, to help find the missing school children, Mohammed said that all other conditions should be subordinated to saving the children.

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