By Soni Daniel,
Northern Region Editor
As desperate search for the Dapchi schoolgirls, believed
to have been captured by Boko Haram continued,
yesterday, two sets of people with knowledge of how
terrorists operate, differed on the claim by a self-
acclaimed female negotiator, Aisha Wakil, that she had
been contacted by the terror group on the girls.
An aid worker with an international mission working in
the North-East, who spoke with Sunday Vanguard, said it
was plausible that the terrorists had actually contacted
Wakil given the fact that “she is respected by the group”.
A mediator, who is known to have been part of the
negotiations for the release of some of the Chibok girls,
however, dismissed Wakil’s claim as attention-seeking.
The aid worker, who declined to be quoted, said Wakil
remained a credible source of contact with the group.
According to her, the self—acclaimed negotiator appeared
to have earned Boko Haram’s confidence.
She said,”
I believe that they have made contact with her because those who took the girls are those who are
desperately looking for credible persons to negotiate the
release of the girls in exchange for cash, which they
desperately need to continue to prosecute the war with
government.
“Over the years, the guys must have run out of cash and
they picked the girls so as to use them as bargaining chip
with government for cash”.
The mediator, credited with being part of the negotiations
for the release of the two sets of Chibok girls with the
Federal Government, in her counter position, dismissed
Wakil’s claim as ‘attention-seeking’ and aimed at getting
government to recognise her as one who could help find
the missing girls.
“I don’t think any Boko Haram element from the
Abubakar Shekau faction or the Benawi faction ever
called her about the abduction and the location of the
victims.
I would advise that government just ignores the
woman,” the mediator said.
Prsident Buhari and Dapchi school girls
Meanwhile, the Presidency, yesterday, distanced itself
from the claim by Wakil, saying only the military and other
security agencies could respond to her statement.
Special Adviser on Media to the President, Femi Adesina,
told one of our correspondents that the Presidency had no
comment to make on Wakil’s claim.
“It is clear therefore that the Boko Haram insurgents are
really launching a new and more ferocious phase of
offensive against civilians and military with a view to
diminishing the gains already made”.
The aid worker disclosed further that the claim in certain
quarters that there was a major disagreement between
the two factions of the Boko Haram insurgents was
misplaced as the foot soldiers loyal to Shekau and
Benawhi were working together for their common
interests.
“It is true that while Shekau is more interested in fighting
government to install its form of government in Nigeria,
the other faction is made up of people who want
pecuniary gains and are ready to kidnap for ransom.
“This may explain why kidnapping of young schoolgirls
has become rampant in recent years.
She lamented that the insurgents swooped on the Dapchi
Science College and took the girls away in four trucks
without any challenge from any security outfit.
“It is possible that the insurgents and the girls are still
being holed up within Nigerian territory since they could
not have crossed over to any country in those trucks
within the few days,” the aid worker said.
Wakil, aka Mama Boko Haram, had, while saying she had
been contacted by the Boko Haram faction holding the
Dapchi girls, on Friday, said: “They were even the ones
that called me, and said `Mama, we heard what you have
said’ and told me that they were with the girls and they
were going to release them’.
She had continued: “I begged of them and said please let
this not be another 1,000-plus days of Chibok girls, and
they laughed and said no. I asked them where I can come
and stay with them (girls) for two days, but they did not
say anything.
“I can assure Nigerians that so far they are with my son
Habib and his friends; Habib is a nice guy, he is very nice
boy. He will not harm them, he will not touch them, and
he will not kill them.
Ajara: “Our principal was crying” and Fatima doesn’t
want to go to school anymore
“He is going to listen to us, and so far he indicated
interest that he loves peace. And I love them for that and
believe what they said on this.
“They will definitely give us the girls. All I am begging
Nigerians is to calm down, be prayerful, everything will be
over in God grace” (sic).
In a related development, insight into how aid workers
and soldiers were slaughtered by rampaging Boko Haram
terrorists in the Internally Displaced Persons Camp, IDP,
in Rahn, Borno State, was given by the aid worker who
spoke to News Agency.
The official, who claimed to have been in Borno at the
time of the attack, revealed that over 120 Boko Haram
fighters overran the military post in the town and killed
four soldiers and riot policemen on duty, before making
away with their arms and ammunition.
“Sadly, despite clearly identifying themselves as aid
workers, the terrorists still shot them dead in their
respective apartments”, she said.
Also, yesterday, former President Goodluck Jonathan and
erstwhile governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed
Makarfi, condemned the spate of killings in the country,
particularly the attack that killed international aid workers
in Rann
.
Jonathan, in a post on his Facebook wall, called for
international co-operation in the war against terrorism,
noting that an attack on the aid workers is an attack on
all nations of the world.
Sandals are strewn in the yard of the Government Girls
Science and Technical College staff quarters in Dapchi,
Nigeria, on February 22, 2018.
“I condemn the killings of members of staff of the United
Nations (UN) and other humanitarian and aid workers in
Rann by Boko Haram terrorists. My thoughts and prayers
are with the UN and the families of the victims as well as
those injured in the dastardly and cowardly attack”, he
said.
In a statement signed by his spokesman, Mukhtar Sirajo,
Makarfi also offered his condolences to the families of
victims of another bomb explosion in Bumi Yadi and
Madagali on Saturday stressing that until terrorists are
chased out of the nation, the fight against insurgency
cannot be said to have been won in the true sense of the
word.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC
equally reportedly deployed hundreds of special forces
across schools in the North-East to forestall more
kidnappings..
Commandant General of the Corps, Abdullahi Gana
Muhammadu, disclosed this in a statement signed by his
Media Assistant, DCC Soji Alabi.
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