The Nigerian military has begun a deployment
of soldiers along the country's northern
borders as part of efforts to rescue
schoolgirls who were kidnapped by the Boko
Haram sect on Monday night, SUNDAY PUNCH
authoritatively reports
No fewer than 129 girls were kidnapped from
Government Girls Secondary school, Chibok,
Borno State.
A day after the attack, 14 of the girls escaped
when one of the lorries in which they were
being conveyed broke down. On Friday,
another 14 escaped from their abductors,
close to a Cameroon border, leaving 85 in the
custody of the sect.
The principal of the school, Mrs. Asabe
Kwambura, reportedly said members of the
sect were dressed in military uniforms.
The Defence Headquarters had on Wednesday
said the military had rescued 107 girls of the
abducted pupils.
But on Thursday, Kwambura faulted the claim
of the Defence Headquarters that 107 girls
had been rescued.
Kwambura, had, in an interview with the BBC
Hausa Service, said apart from the 14 pupils
that escaped from the sect, she was not aware
of any that had been released.
She had described the statement of the
military as "a blatant lie."
The Defence Headquarters later on
Wednesday night retracted its statement on
the release of the 107 schoolgirls.
In a statement by the Director of Defence
Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, the
military authorities said, "In the light of the
denial by the principal of the school, the
Defence Headquarters wishes to defer to the
school principal and the governor's statement
on the number of students still missing."
SUNDAY PUNCH learnt on Friday that the
troops were deployed in the borders with
Niger, Chad and Cameroon, with the largest
concentration along the Cameroonian area.
A top military source who pleaded anonymity
told our correspondent that the military was
concentrating on the borders because
members of the sect might want to sneak the
schoolgirls out of Nigeria.
The source said, "There has been a large
movement of troops along Nigerian borders.
Soldiers are being conveyed in buses as part
of efforts to rescue the girls.
"The information we have is that the
kidnappers are still within Nigeria, especially
within the Sambisa terrain, hence the
deployment of more troops at borders to
prevent their escape to neighbouring
countries."
When our correspondent contacted Olukolade,
he confirmed the deployment, adding that
soldiers were still in pursuit of those holding
the schoolgirls.
'The deployment is part of the entire
operation; it is part of the general operation
there. Soldiers are still in pursuit of those who
are holding them," he said
He declined to make further comments.
Our correspondent further learnt that when
the girls were abducted, the sect ambushed
security forces that were chasing them, killing
a soldier in the process.
Another top security source told SUNDAY
PUNCH that the sect might have divided the
girls into different groups and separated them
to make it impossible to get all the girls in
one place.
He said, "The soldiers that were going to
intervene were ambushed on the way. One
soldier died in the ambush; soldiers fought
through the ambush and continued their
movement but they were delayed. The
planners were meticulous; they planned for
intervention.
"We have an intelligence report that it might
be difficult to retrieve all the girls in one
group; they (the sect) have divided the girls
into small groups, which will make it difficult
to get them all in one spot."
One of the girls who escaped was said to have
disclosed that the sect members did not
harass them sexually.
The security source, who confided in our
correspondent, quoted the girl to have said,
"They didn't mess us up, but they (the sect
members) told us to cook food for them. We
also have a report that they have not reached
their destination."
The Special Adviser to President Goodluck
Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben
Abati, declined commenting on the Federal
Government's rescue mission for the
kidnapped girls. He said it was a matter for
security agencies to comment on.
