*Tinubu, Saraki others hail Buhari
*It's diversionary — Fayose
THE Presidency, yesterday, confirmed
the release of 21 Chibok school girls, following dialogue with
leaders of Boko Haram, their abductors, after 911 days in captivity.
“We can confirm that 21 of the girls
were released, safely, to us by 5.30 this Thursday morning
(yesterday) and they were flown to Kaduna from the location of their
release. This is the most glaring manifestation, to date, of the
unwavering commitment of Mr. President to secure safe release of the
girls and reunite them with their families. It is also a result of
the round-the-clock efforts by the administration to put a closure to
the sad issue of the kidnap of the girls. We expect the released
girls to land in Abuja shortly,’ the Minister of Information and
Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said.
According to the minster, "there
is no truth in reports that the girls were swapped with detained Boko
Haram insurgents. The girls’ release was secured based on a very
delicate negotiation and confidence built over the time," he
stressed.
It had been earlier reported that the
girls were freed in a swap for detained Boko Haram leaders. According
to the report, four detained Boko Haram leaders were released on
Wednesday night at Banki, a town on the northeast border with
Cameroon.
The girls were among the 219 students
abducted by the insurgents in Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2014.
One of them, Amina Ali Nkeki, had
earlier this year, escaped from the abductors’ grip and was
received by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa,
Abuja.
Negotiations failed last year, when
Boko Haram demanded a ransom of $5.2 billion for the girls’
freedom, according to a recently published authorized biography of
President Muhammadu Buhari by American historian, John Paden.
Indeed, an elated President Buhari, who
jetted out to Germany, yesterday, welcomed the release of the girls
and promised to discuss the issue with the German Chancellor, Angela
Merkel.
“As I depart Abuja for Germany on an
official visit, I welcome the release of 21 of our Chibok Girls,
following successful negotiations,” Buhari said on Twitter, a few
minutes after the news broke out.
“The Department of State Services
(DSS) has briefed me on the matter, and will continue to provide
updates. Cooperation on the security and humanitarian situation in
the Northeast will form a significant part of my discussions with
Chancellor Merkel,” he added.
Freedom for the 21 girls elicited joy
in the Borno State Government House and from the Bring Back Our Girls
group, BBOG, which has been in the vanguard of the crusade to get the
girls freed.
In the absence of President Buhari, the
girls were received by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Welcoming the girls, Osinbajo said:
“Welcome
back girls!"
“I am sure you know that the whole
country has been waiting for you to come back, all these many months,
the whole country has been waiting that, one day, we will see you
again and we are very happy to see you back!
“We are going to bring your parents,
your parents will be coming here to join you.
“You can’t immediately be taken out
of here because we need to be sure that you are in very good health.
“I am sure you are going to be very
well taken care of. We have provided very good accommodation for you
where you will stay, where you will sleep and your parents will come
and meet you there also.
“We are also going to see to it that
everything that you require going forward, perhaps your education,
those who need to go back to school, those who need to find
employment, we are going to make that we make all the provisions for
you."
Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, who also
confirmed the release of the 21 girls, stated that the the girls, who
were in the custody of the DSS would be received by Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo. The girls were eventually received by Osinbajo and
other dignitaries, including the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari and
Information Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The names of released girls
The 21 girls whose names were released,
last night, by the Presidency, included Mary Usman Bulama; Jummai
John; Blessing Abana; Lugwa Sanda; Comfort Habila; Maryam Basheer;
Comfort Amos; Glory Mainta; Saratu Emmanuel; Deborah Ja’afaru;
Rahab Ibrahim and Helen Musa.
Others are Maryamu Lawan; Rebecca
Ibrahim; Asabe Goni; Deborah Andrawus; Agnes Gapani; Saratu Markus;
Glory Dama; Pindah Nuhu; and Rebecca Mallam.
“The release of the girls, in a
limited number, is the outcome of negotiations between the
administration and the Boko Haram brokered by the International Red
Cross and the Swiss government. The negotiations will continue. The
President welcomes the release of the girls but cautioned Nigerians
to be mindful of the fact that more than 30,000 fellow citizens were
killed via terrorism," Shehu said in a statement.
FG assembles team of doctors,
psychologists, others for freed girls
Ahead of the arrival of the girls in
Abuja, Lai Mohammed told journalists that the Federal Government had
assembled a team of medical doctors, psychologists, social workers,
trauma experts, etc, to properly examine the girls, especially
because they had been in captivity for so long.
He also disclosed that government will
adequately debrief the girls and had started contacting their parents
as part of the necessary verification exercise.
How the deal was struck
On how the deal was struck, the
minister said: “We have been working on the safe release of the
girls and following all the leads available. In this instance, the
moment we had a credible lead, Mr President gave the green-light to
the DSS to pursue it. We can confirm that the DSS pursued the lead in
collaboration with a friendly European country and a renowned
international humanitarian organization. The DSS was supported by the
military.
“As soon as the necessary confidence
was built on both sides, the parties agreed on the date and the
location of the release of the 21 girls. Please, note that this is
not a swap. It is a release, the product of painstaking negotiations
and trust on both sides.
“We see this as a credible first step
in the eventual release of all the Chibok Girls in captivity. It is
also a major step in confidence-building between us as a government
and the Boko Haram leadership on the issue of the Chibok Girls.”
Confirming the medical and
psychological attention the government was paying to the girls, Mr.
Laolu Akande, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s spokesman, in a tweet,
said, the “FG is now gathering medical and other support and care
in Abuja for the just released 21 Chibok girls.”
BBOG lauds FG, urges adequate
security for others
The Bring Back Our Girls BBOG movement
has commended the Federal Government and its international partners
for yesterday’s “negotiated release of 21 of our abducted
ChibokGirls.”
In a statement issued in Abuja, the
BBOG said the action has further confirmed the capacity of government
to rescue all the girls.
“We welcome reports from the
Presidential Spokesperson, Garba Shehu, of the negotiated release of
21 of our abducted Chibok girls today. This wonderful development
confirms what we have always known about the capacity of our
government to rescue our Chibok girls. The movement further asked the
Federal Government to ensure the safety and well-being of those still
in captivity.
Borno govt expresses joy
The Borno State Government also
expressed happiness over the release of the 21 Chibok schoolgirls.
Speaking on the development, Governor,
Kashim Shettima, in a statement by Malam Isa Gusau, spokesman to the
Borno Governor, said: “As people of Borno State troubled by the
deaths and destruction of Boko Haram insurgency, one of our major
sources of strength since May 29, 2015, has been the undiluted
sincerity we saw in President Muhammadu Buhari based on his
administration’s absolutely genuine commitment towards recovering
our schoolgirls, thousands of other women and children held in
captivity, as well as ending the insurgency in order to secure the
lives of our citizens and make way for reconstruction, resettlement
and other development programmes and projects.
“We had faith in Buhari from the very
day he took off as President. The steps he kept on taking in dealing
with the insurgency continuously proved his sincerity. If any
Nigerian or members of the international community had doubts about
the sincerity and commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to the
rescue of our precious daughters abducted by Boko Haram insurgents at
Government Secondary School, Chibok on April 14, 2014, the rescue of
all other abducted Nigerians and very importantly, his sincerity in
working towards ending the Boko Haram insurgency, such doubts must by
now be laid to rest.
Governor Shettima left Abuja with
President Muhammadu Buhari’ as part of the Presidential delegation
to Germany.
Saraki, Harriman, others hail girls'
freedom
Senate President Bukola Saraki hailed
President Buhari for the release of the 21 Chibok schoolgirls, just
as he restated the commitment of the Senate to support the Federal
Government to secure the release of the other girls.
In a statement from his Media office,
yesterday, the Senate President said: "We join all Nigerians to
rejoice on the return of our daughters. Our thoughts and prayers
remain with the families of those who have returned, and those girls
who remain in the hands of the terrorists. It is our hope that the
release of more of the girls is imminent and that our nation remains
vigilant in the face of the continued crisis in North East Nigeria."
Former member of the House of
Representatives and All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain, Temi
Harriman, also praised the tenacity of purpose of the Bring Back Our
Girls group, saying their patriotism should be well emulated.
Harriman, who noted that two of the
kidnapped girls, Hauwa Ali 16, and Zainab Yaga 17, at the time of the
abduction, were siblings of two of her aides, commended the sacrifice
of the BBOG in its advocacy.
Founder-President of the Wellbeing
Foundation Africa, Mrs Toyin Saraki, said the news that 21 Chibok
girls were released by Boko Haram to the Nigerian government was
cheery.
“I am delighted to learn, from
preliminary news reports, of the release of 21 girls abducted in the
north-east of Nigeria 911 days ago. This news, coming just two days
after the International Day of the Girl Child, is a testament to the
perseverance and a testimony to the persistence of all efforts to
find our missing girls, and we are grateful for their restoration to
freedom.
"In the coming days, weeks,
months, and years, we hope the 21 released girls, 18 of whom are
reported to be nursing mothers, and all other victims of forcible
disappearances around the world, will receive the necessary
psycho-social counselling, in efforts to ensure their holistic
rehabilitation and well-being,” she said.
Release of Chibok girls
diversionary, address hunger, Fayose tells FG
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele
Fayose, described the celebration of the Federal Government over the
release of 21 Chibok girls by the Boko Haram, as not only
diversionary but also a tactic to divert the attention of Nigerians
away from the hunger and outrage generated by crackdown on judges.
The governor said: “Nigerians have
had enough of anti-corruption war,” adding that it is high time
President Buhari addressed massive hunger killing many people in the
country.
Fayose said this, yesterday, at
the commissioning of a three-block classrooms built at the Erelu
Adebayo Children’s Home in Iyin Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun Local
Government Area as part of activities marking his second year in
office.
In his words: “What they came out
today to tell Nigerians that 21 abducted Chibok girls have been
released by the Boko Haram group is diversionary. Nigerians have
never had it so bad. People are very hungry. What they did today is
just to divert attention from what they did last week by clamping
judges and justices into detention. While no one is saying corruption
should be condoned, the due process must be followed."
Tinubu congratulates Buhari
The news of the release of the 21
Chibok girls came to me as a delightful relief. I congratulate the
families of these young ladies who have endured so much anxiety and
pain on account of this horrendous experience. I am also grateful
that these budding young stars now have the opportunity to again
pursue their dreams and aspirations. I know there is road to recovery
and readjustment ahead, but I am confident that the support of their
families, our communities, and the assistance of our many
collaborators at home, and internationally provided the tools
required for this.
I also congratulate and thank President
Buhari for his steadfastness and dogged effort in ensuring the
release of these girls. I salute our gallant men and women in uniform
who continue to make sacrifices on our behalf and have remained
focused in the hot pursuit of the terrorists."
No comments:
Post a Comment