NEWS: Malala Yousafzai Says 'President Goodluck Jonathan Would Soon Meet With Parents And Guardians Of Abducted Chibok Girls'

An education activist, Malala Yousafzai, said on Monday President Goodluck Jonathan would soon meet with the parents and guardians of the abducted Chibok school girls in Borno.

Yousafzai told State House correspondents after her meeting with the President in the Presidential Villa, Abuja that the President also promised that the abducted girls would soon be released alive by their captors.

According to her, the parents of the affected girls, whom she met on Sunday, said they wanted to meet with the President to share their stories with him.

“They were asking if it is possible they meet the president because, at this time they need people’s support, they need their President’s support.

“So, I asked the President that is it possible for him to go and see the parents, to see these girls, to encourage them and to tell them that yes, their daughters will return home

“The President did promise me and he said, he will meet the parents of these girls.

“I’m hopeful that these two promises, the return of those girls under the abduction of Boko Haram and meeting the parents of those girls will be fulfilled and we will see it really soon,’’ she said

She called on the international community to support Nigeria in the ongoing fight against the menace of insurgency saying the country should not be left alone in tackling the problem.

According to Yousafzai, her ongoing agitation for the release of the kidnapped girls will continue until all the girls regain their freedom.

“I can’t stop this campaign until I see those girls return back to their families and continue their education. This is the position of the Malala Foundation.

“I am hopeful that the international community will also consider this very important and take serious action because if we think this country is far away in Africa and is not going to affect other countries, we are really wrong,’’ she said.

She also called on the Federal Government to increase its budgetary allocation to the education sector to address the challenges of those children that were out of school across the country.

Yousafzai, who celebrated her 17th birthday on Sunday, said she dedicated this year to her agitation for the release of the abducted school girls!

NEWS: President Goodluck Jonathan NOT Willing To Release Boko Haram Fighters For Abducted Chibok Secondary School Girls

Nigeria‘s President Goodluck Jonathan has ruled out the release of Boko Haram fighters in exchange for the freedom of more than 200 school girls kidnapped

Britain’s Africa minister Mark Simmonds, in Nigeria for talks about the international rescue mission, told reporters Wednesday that he raised the issue with Jonathan during a meeting in Abuja.

“I did discuss this with the president and he made it very clear that there will be no negotiation with Boko Haram that involves a swap of abducted schoolgirls for prisoners”, he told reporters.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau suggested in a video released on Monday that he may be prepared to release the girls if Nigeria freed militants held in the country’s jails.

Interior Minister Abba Moro immediately rejected the plan, telling AFP that the Islamist group, which has waged a deadly insurgency in northeast Nigeria since 2009, could not dictate terms.

A door appeared to have opened to discussions about the girls on Tuesday, when special duties minister Taminu Turaki indicated that the teenagers’ freedom could up for discussion.

Simmonds said Jonathan had now ruled that out, he added that the president was still prepared to fulfil his pledge of talking to the extremists about wider issues to end the violence.

- International search and support -

The rejection of a prisoner swap came as international powers ramped up the search effort, including with the use of US military surveillance drones and manned aircraft.

The Pentagon said it had deployed the robotic Global Hawk, which flies at high altitude, and the manned MC-12, a propeller plane heavily used in Afghanistan.

Both types of aircraft are “unarmed” and strictly being used for surveillance.

However, the data is not yet being shared with the Nigerians because Washington is still working out an agreement to govern the sharing of intelligence, Colonel Steven Warren told reporters.

Hawkish Republican Senator John McCain said the Pentagon should consider acting unilaterally and sending US special forces in to rescue the girls.

He mocked the capabilities of Nigeria‘s military and said any special forces entry to deal with the Boko Haram “animals” should be done without their knowledge.

US military officials said privately that a rescue mission would be fraught with massive risks and dangers and that it currently was not deemed an option.

In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament a Sentinel surveillance aircraft and a military team would be sent to Abuja to assist in the search.

France, Israel and China are also involved, with the hunt focused on the Sambisa forest area of Borno state, although there are fears the girls may have been split up and taken to neighbouring Chad or Cameroon.

Worldwide interest has been growing in the plight of the missing girls after 276 teenagers were abducted from their school in the remote northeastern town of Chibok on April 14. A total of 223 are still missing.

Jonathan’s office said he had received “solidarity calls” from the prime ministers of Algeria, Abdelmalek Sellal, and Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif.

In Paris, President Francois Hollande’s office said the leaders of Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad would meet with Jonathan in the French capital on Saturday for a security summit.

Representatives from the European Union, Britain and the United States would also attend, the Elysee said.

“The meeting will discuss… how to cut off (Boko Haram) by intelligence, how to train to fight and drive out the killers,” Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius added.

- Special powers -

Jonathan on Tuesday requested parliamentary approval for a six-month state of emergency first imposed in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states on May 14 last year.

Lawmakers in the lower House of Representatives began discussing the issue while senators from the upper chamber summoned the ministers of defence and police affairs, military and security chiefs to brief them on Thursday.

By law, the request has to be approved by two-thirds of both chambers.

The extension request was widely expected but its effectiveness has been questioned.

The governor of Yobe state, however, voiced his opposition to extending the state of emergency and it is likely that Borno and Adamawa will follow suit.

All three states are run by the main opposition All Progressives Congress party, which is eyeing power in next year’s general election.

Attacks have increased on rural areas leading to mounting civilian casualties. More than 1,500 are estimated to have been killed this year alone.

Security analysts have urged Nigeria to improve its counter-insurgency tactics including more use of intelligence, instead of just conventional means, to defeat guerrilla fighters.

International military leaders hope their expertise could help refine Nigeria‘s tactics against Boko Haram. AFP

NEWS: NDF Commends International Community Over Moves To Rescue The Abducted Chibok Secondary School Girls

ABUJA — Northern delegates at the ongoing National Conference, under the aegis of  Northern Delegates Forum, NDF, has commended the international community for joining Nigeria in her efforts to rescue over 200 female students of Chibok, Borno State abducted by Boko Haram terrorists about three weeks ago.

Spokesman of the NDF, Mr Anthony Sani, who made this known pooh-poohed claims by some Nigerians that the involvement of foreign countries in search for the missing girls amounted to their meddling into the nation’s internal affairs.

He said there was no need to politicise the matter of security challenges or even  disagreement in view of the fact that the overriding interest now was to rescue the girls.

In a statement in Abuja, yesterday, Sani said: 

‘’When one reads that there is disagreement among some Nigerians about the involvement of foreigners in Nigeria’s search for the abducted girls, it is upsetting.

“Upsetting because there is no basis for the disagreement, considering the over-riding urgent need to rescue the girls which our efforts alone have not yielded the desired result, and the fact that terrorism transcends national boundaries''.

“The NDF, therefore, welcomes the offer of other countries to join the Nigerian government’s effort to rescue the abducted girls. There is no room for national pride being hurt in this matter. After all, Nigeria has been helping other countries to sort out their security challenges.

“More over, it does not matter whether the cat is black, white, brown or it is spotted, as long as it can catch the rat.

“And that was why when foreign missions visited Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, in the past, the forum appealed to them to come to the aid of Nigeria in the campaigns against the insurgence through sharing of intelligence, training, employment of counter terrorism strategies and operations of security personnel. 

The NDF, therefore, wishes to appeal to our leaders at all level (be they political, religious and community leaders) and all public spirited individuals and groups with patriotic courage not to bring matter of security challenges into the political cockpit.”

NEWS: Some Parents Of Abducted Chibok Secondary School Girls Say 'Our Daughters Not In Boko Haram Video'

Some parents of the school girls abducted at government girls secondary school in CHIBOK, Borno State by BOKO HARAM terrorists in the last four weeks have distant themselves from the latest video clip purportedly released by acclaimed leader of the sect, Abubakar Shekau who claimed that the kidnapped students, particularly the Christians have been converted to Islam, stressing that they could not identify any of their daughters in the clip as obtained by AFP and media outfits other Monday.

It would be recalled that Governor Shettima orders mass production of the clips for possible identification by parents after he watched with very keen interest on the BBC world service, and  therefore directed transfer of the video into mobile storage devices under the care of some officials,including the Chairman of Chibok local government area, who have been given an immediate task of showing the videos to parents, some of the freed students who know their abducted colleagues, teachers and management staff of school.

Unfortunately,  after watching the video, Mallam Zannah Chibok, one of the parents said, he couldn’t identify any of his daughter in the video,  pointing out that some of the faces shown on the video are not even students considering their ages which they are supposed to be over 30 or 40 years old.

Likewise, another parent who did not want his name mentioned for security reasons, admitted that watched the video on cable network channels, including Facebook and other social media, but to his dismay,  he couldn’t identify any of his missing daughters in the video.

Also speaking to our correspondent on phone, some parents and residents of Chibok, especially those residing in remote villages are yet to come across any video, not to talk of identifying their missing daughters.

DETAILS LATER!

NEWS: Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo Criticizes Abduction Of The Chibok Secondary School Girls, Says FG Could Have Acted Quickly

Former Nigeria’s President, Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, condemned the abduction of over 200 school girls in Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State.

Obasanjo spoke in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the state government on the adoption of a junior secondary school and a primary school in Kudai, Dutse.

Obasanjo, however, faulted Federal Government for its lackadaisical attitude towards saving the lives of the abducted students.

Speaking shortly after the signing of MoU between Jigawa State government and Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation, at Government House, Dutse, Chief Obasanjo said the delay by the government over the matter led to their being moved away from the school, adding that if urgent rescue action was taken, the girls could have been saved from their current hardship.

“The Federal Government could have acted quickly when the news broke so as to save the innocent girls, but nothing was done,” he lamented.

Obasanjo described the abduction of the girls as unfortunate and pathetic, considering the future of their lives.

“Their future is significant as such everything possible must be done to rescue them,” he  said.

He, however said that, “whatever might have been the grievances of the group of people behind the adoption of these girls, whatever might have been their anger or objectives, it was uncalled for, considering the importance of these girls.”

He said his foundation has established itself in four countries in Africa among which Nigeria, Liberia and Ghana are beneficiaries.

Governor Sule Lamido thanked the former president for his wisdom in establishing of his foundation.

VIDEOS: Boko Haram Shows Abducted Video Of Chibok Secondary School Girls #BringBackOurGirls

The Boko Haram terrorist sect have issued yet another video, showing, as they claim, the missing Chibok girls who still are in their captivity. Also in the video, the sect's leader Abubakar Shekau imposes options for the girls' release.

It will be recalled that in their previous video entry, the sect have claimed responsibility for the abduction of 276 female students. The girls were snatched from their school's dormitories by the Boko Haram insurgents in Chibok town, Borno State, on April 14. While some of them have managed to escape, over 200 still remain in the terrorists' hands. Eleven more girls were abducted from the Gwoza area of Borno State on May 4.

In the video obtained by AFP, Shekau appears dressed in a military uniform and holds an automatic weapon. He speaks in the Hausa and Arabic languages.

He says the girls were "liberated" by converting to Islam. He then suggests that the girls could be traded for the "Boko Haram's brothers in arms" who have been serving their prison time, explaining, "We will never release them [the girls] until after you release our brethren. Here I mean those girls who have not submitted [converted to Islam]".

The video also includes footage of about 130 girls whom the terrorists claim to be the abducted Chibok female students. It is worth noting that Shekau does not appear in the same shot as the girls at any point during the video. 

The girls were shown wearing black and grey full-length hijabs, reciting the first chapter of the Qur'an and holding their palms upwards in prayer. Their location is undetermined.

Three of the girls are then interviewed: two of them say they were Christian and had converted to Islam, while one girl says she was Muslim. The girls appeared calm and one said that they had not been harmed, although in the previous video, Shekau had threatened to sell the girls into slavery. 

There was no indication of when the video was taken, although the quality is better than on previous occasions and at one point an armed man is seen in shot with a hand-held video camera.

The Nigerian government has been criticised for its lack of immediate response to the abduction, with a wave of demonstrations demanding action engulfing the whole country and drawing attention of the world. The police have offered a N50 million reward for any information that could lead to identifying the whereabouts of the girls.

However, President Goodluck Jonathan has accepted help from the United States, Britain, France, China and Israel, which have sent specialist teams to help in the search effort.

Previously, a former mediator, human rights activist and the leader of the National Civil Rights Congress, Shehu Sani has suggested that the kidnapped girls may be used for prisoner swap.

See videos below:

NEWS: President Goodluck Jonathan Refuses To Release Boko Haram Prisoners For Abducted Chibok Secondary School Girls

The Federal Government of Nigeria have allegedly said that it won't swap Boko Haram prisoners for abducted schoolgirls, according to AFP.

Earlier today the terrorist group released a new video message in which they purported to show some of the hundreds of girls they have captured from a town in the north-east of the country.

Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the militant group, also said that the girls had been converted to Islam while in captivity, which he referred to as a "liberation".

The 17-minute video, obtained by the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), showed around 100 girls wearing full veils and reportedly praying in an undisclosed location.

In a separate part of the video, Shekau said that the girls would remain captive until the Nigerian government releases all imprisoned Boko Haram militants.

When asked if the government would reject any offer of a deal in exchange for prisoners, interior minister Abba Moro told AFP: "Of Course."

He said: "The issue in question is not about Boko Haram giving conditions."

The video has raised further concerns that the girls have now been split up into a number of groups across a remote stretch of Nigeria, as well as fears some may have been smuggled out of the country altogether.

The Nigerian government has previously said it will not "pay a ransom" to get the girls back, and on Thursday the president, Goodluck Jonathan, vowed that he would make the incident "the beginning of the end" of terrorism in the country.

Three girls were reported to have appeared individually in the videos, with one of them saying that they had not been harmed by their captors.

NEWS: Graca Machel Writes A Letter To The Abducted Chibok Secondary School Girls

Former president Nelson Mandela's wife, Graca Machel has written an emotional letter to the abducted Chibok Secondary School girls who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram.

The girls were abducted from their school dormitory in Chibok on the night of 14th - 15th April.

The abduction has triggered an international outcry with some countries now coming forward offering assistance to bring the schoolgirls home.

Machel, addressed the letter to the parents of the missing girls, calling on them not to lose hope.

Graca Machel Trust spokesperson Sisonke Msimang, says many on the continent look to her as a mother figure, given her credibility as a person who has championed the rights of women and children.

"She also wanted to make it known to the parents that she was also concerned and that something needs to be done by the authorities."

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has threatened in a video to sell the girls "on the market".

Prince Adibe, a Nigerian national living in South Africa, said he dropped everything to take part in the protest.

He also called on the world to take action.

NEWS: Pope Francis Pleads With The World To Pray For The Abducted Chibok Secondary School Girls

Pope of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has gone to his Twitter page to plead with everybody for their prayers towards the abducted Chibok Secondary School girls

#BringBackOurGirls 

See tweet below:

NEWS: Late Nelson Mandela’s Wife, Graca Machel Stops Mourning For The Abducted Chibok Secondary School Girls

Graca Machel has stopped her mourning period for late Nelson Mandela to support the search of the abducted Chibok Secondary School girls. 

She said: 

'The Nigerian government has a responsibility to protect its citizen, and keep them safe'

'If the world can mobilise all the means possible to search for a plane carrying 239 passengers, certainly it can also mobilise the means to find our girls. They deserve nothing less'

The traditional Xhosa mourning period is meant to go on for a year, but her own was reduced to 6 months

She also said:

'I decided to break the restrictions of my mourning because silence is not an option. I know however, that Madiba will understand and approve'

'I am a parent and so I stand amongst you holding your hands, in pain and anguish: in solidarity'