The Bring Back Our Girls coalition has flayed the Federal Government over what it described as the apparent contradiction by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed on the Chibok schoolgirls’ rescue.
It said that while Buhari earlier claimed that his administration had not established contact with the group holding the girls, the minister in his media briefing on September 16, stated that the Federal Government had, through the Department of State Services opened negotiation with the group holding the #ChibokGirls since July 17, 2015.
The group at a press briefing on Friday in Abuja, said it did not know who to believe between the President and the minister.
In its press statement, delivered by the BBOG Co-coordinator, Oby Ezekwesili, the
coalition also noted that there was a gap in the chronicle of events by the minister, noting that the account presented by Mohammed only covered July-December 2015, leaving out January-September, 2016.
The group said, “Based on this very obvious contradiction, who then should parents, Chibok Community, our Movement and the Nigerian and global public that are extremely anxious about the rescue of the 218 young women believe?
“Should we believe the President who says that government has not established contact with the “credible group holding the girls”? Or should we believe the Minister of Information whose September 16, 2016 account to the public, explicitly stated that the Federal Government has through the Department for State Services, “opened negotiation with the group holding the #ChibokGirls” since July 17, 2015? Who should we believe?”
The BBOG also said it was curious to know why it appeared from recent statements of the President that he was expecting the terrorists to take the lead by showing up and identifying themselves to the government.
“How reasonable is such expectation? Should it not be the Government of Nigeria under the leadership of our President that must mobilize both national and global intelligence assets and military capabilities to take all necessary actions that makes it impossible for the terrorists to continue to hold our ChibokGirls hostage?,” it asked.
The BBOG said while it welcomed the request made to the United Nations by the President, the group said it is the primary duty of the FG to make the decisions and carry out the actions that would lead to the Chibok girls return.
“Therefore, the invitation to the UN should in no way signal any attempt to abdicate this core duty that our government owes to Nigerian citizens,” it said.
It demanded that the President and the military should engage with three key countries of the UN Security Council, namely the United States, United Kingdom and France.
It urged the three countries supported by the UN to begin an urgent collaboration with the FG to execute the lowest risk option for retrieving the school girls from Boko Haram captivity.
The group said, “We demand that the Federal Government should, in the light of the many contradictions evidenced by our info-graphic mapping of its numerous public pronouncements, promptly overhaul its communication on this tragedy.
” We ask the President to direct as a matter of urgency, the setting up of a 24/7 Situation Room, composed of senior officials of the military and security teams as well as others who have a role to play in the negotiation proposed.”
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