 |
Activists
of the online movement #BringBackOurGirls demonstrate during a march to the
Presidential Villa in Abuja on January 8, 2017 to mark the 1000 days since the
mass abduction of the Chibok school girls
|
Nigeria is negotiating
with the help of "foreign entities" for the remaining kidnapped
Chibok girls held by Boko Haram Islamists, a presidential spokesman said
Thursday.
AFP
report continues:
As
the country prepares to mark the third anniversary of the mass kidnapping on
Friday, Garba Shehu told the BBC in a radio interview there were ongoing
negotiations to release the 195 girls believed still be being held by Boko
Haram.
"Talks
are ongoing through other means with the help of some foreign entities to free
more schoolgirls," Shehu said during an interview with BBC Hausa.
"These
talks are going on with the help of some countries. You can recall the 21
schoolgirls were freed with the help of the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) and Swiss government officials who got involved in the
negotiations. These two have not withdrawn their support in the
negotiations," Shehu said.
"There
are also other countries that are lending support to the negotiations by being
involved in the talks," Shehu added.
In
October last year, 21 girls were freed after negotiations between Boko Haram
and the Nigerian government brokered by the ICRC and the Swiss government, said
the presidency.
Boko
Haram seized 276 students from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok
on April 14, 2014. Fifty-seven managed to escape in the immediate aftermath
while three others were found or rescued by the military. Some had babies in
captivity.
"(The)
government is in constant touch through negotiations, through local
intelligence to secure the release of the remaining girls and other abducted
persons unharmed," Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement
on Thursday.
"On
this solemn occasion, my appeal is that we must not lose hope on the return of
our remaining schoolgirls."
In
Nigeria's capital Abuja and the commercial hub of Lagos, Bring Back Our Girls
campaigners are preparing to march on Friday to mark the anniversary of the
kidnapping.
The
Chibok schoolgirls became a symbol of the Boko Haram insurgency that began in
2009 and has left at least 20,000 people dead in northeast Nigeria.
Despite
a military fight-back, villages near Chibok, which is 125 kilometres (80 miles)
by road from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, have seen a wave of suspected
Boko Haram attacks in recent months.
Garba
Shehu was not available for comment Thursday when contacted by AFP.
We Are Willing To
Bend Over Backwards To Secure Chibok Girls’ Release — Buhari
The
Nation reports that President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said the Federal
Government is willing to bend over backwards to secure the release of the
remaining Chibok girls.
The
President, in his message on the third anniversary of the Chibok girls’
abduction, said the government is negotiating with Boko Haram secure the
release of more of the school girls who were abducted in April 2014.
He,
however, vowed that no group would be allowed to hold Nigeria to ransom again.
President
Buhari said, “Like I have repeatedly said, the Federal Government is willing to
bend over backwards to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls. We
have reached out to their captors, through local and international
intermediaries, and we are ever ready to do everything within our means to ensure
the safe release of all the girls.
“I
wish to reassure the parents of the Chibok girls, all well-meaning Nigerians, organizations
and the international community that as a government, we are unrelenting on the
issue of the safe return of our children.
“I
trust God that soon, our collective efforts will be rewarded with the safe
return of our schoolgirls to their families, friends and their communities.”
“Nigeria
suffered one of the worst crimes committed against its citizens – the abduction
of schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, by the
vicious terrorist and insurgent group, Boko Haram.
“Upon
the inception of this administration in May 2015, it will be recalled that this
militant group occupied no fewer than 14 local government areas in the North
East of the country and posed a serious threat to other parts by unleashing
fear and mayhem through the use of surprise and suicide bombing.
“The
menace of this terrorist group was a great challenge to the resolve of our
administration to implement the Change Agenda. We, therefore, pledged to
reverse the situation, which constituted a threat to the sovereignty of the
country.
“We
were determined to secure the release of the Chibok girls and others forcefully
abducted from their homes and communities and retake the occupied territories.
“Determined
to secure the freedom of the abducted girls and recover lost territories, this
administration gave the necessary political and logistical backing which energized
gallant members of our armed forces and other security agencies to overrun the
headquarters of Boko Haram in the Sambisa Forest and scatter the terrorists
from their strong base.”
According
to him, the group today, has been degraded and is no longer in a position to
mount any serious, coordinated attack, other than sporadic suicide attacks on
soft targets.
Their
reach, he said, is very much confined to a small segment of the North East
where they had previously held sway unchecked.
Stressing
that Nigeria and the entire world must recognize that terrorism has no borders,
the President said the menace remained a growing concern which calls for
collective efforts to curtail.
He
called on all Nigerians and residents in the country, to remain extra vigilant
and report any suspicious element or group to security agencies.
“We cannot afford to let down our guards. Under my watch, no group will hold the country to ransom,” he added.
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