The Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA) – a community-based organisation in Chibok local government area of Borno state-has tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently speed up release of the remaining 112 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram terror group in April 2014.
Boko Haram had in April 2014, claimed responsibility for the abduction of the 276 female students.
Some 57 of the schoolgirls escaped from their captives, with 82 of them rescued while one other was found 12 days later.
Their demands
Making fresh demands in respect of the girls’ release in a statement Wednesday, a copy of which was made to Blueprint in Maiduguri, KADA spokesperson, Mr Allen Manasseh, said since the abduction, the insurgents had consistently attacked the community.
He said: “On the eve of Christmas, our key farming community of Pemi was attacked, in which we lost 7 lives and 2 abducted till date, with churches and many houses razed down by the terrorists.”
The community said, just as the government rescued the schoolboys at Kankara in Katsina and Dapchi schoolgirls in Yobe, such should be done in the rescue of the remaining 112 Chibok schoolgirls in the quickest time possible.
Manasseh said so far, 299 people have been killed in 6 years in Chibok community since the insurgents began their onslaught on the people.
“We demand for adequate response from the President of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, to act presidentially in solving the security situation in Chibok,” the community said.
They further said: “We also want the world to know that, till now, we still have no update from the Nigerian government about the situation of our remaining 112 Chibok girls still in captivity against all the promises of the government to rescue them.
“We, therefore, in the same vein with Dapchi school girls and Kankara school boys, demand that the remaining of our Chibok school daughters should be brought back in quickest time possible.
“Over the past six years, our communities in Chibok LGA have been attacked 69 times with 299 deaths; many abducted aside the 122 Chibok girls still missing, destruction and looting of our properties, more especially food stuff.
“Amongst our communities that were attacked – some severely and serially with no resistance or precautionary measures by our government – include: Chibok town, Bwalakila, Takulashi, Kwople, Kwaranglum, Kautikari, Gatamwarwa, Thlaimakalama, Kakilmari, Bwaftari, Kwada, Kaumutahyahi, Kuburmbula, Mifa, Paya Yesu Bila Maburdar, Yimirmugza, Mbulabam, Gagilam, Piying, Mboa-Kura, Ntsiha A,B,C, and many other locations too numerous to capture in a single statement.
“Some have been attacked over 10 times with our locals and the few security forces ensuring the towns are not laid desolate and turned ghost towns.
“As a community, we want it on record that we appreciate the sacrifices and gallantry of the few Nigerian security forces working to secure our communities, but their numerical strength and promptness to respond and ensure extermination of the terrorists have not met our expectation,” the statement said.
The people said they were constrained to demand for more efforts and possible review/change in strategy in the prosecution of the war on terror.
Landmine in Borno
Meanwhile, seven hunters who were on the heels of Boko Haram terrorists Tuesday in Borno state were killed after a landmine exploded, witnesses and officials have said.
At their funeral, emotion was high with mourners in their hundreds weeping as the blood-drenched corpses of the seven hunters were lowered for burial.
The hunters, who were recently given guns and vehicles to hunt insurgents, died after their vehicle stepped on a landmine planted by Boko Haram on a rough path near a village called Kayamla in Jere local government of the state.
One of the survivors, Abubakar Gambo, said they were 19 onboard their patrol truck when they heard a loud bang.
“We were on patrol along Kayamla route when one of the rear tyres of our Toyota Land Cruiser truck exploded,” he said.
“We thought it was a common tyre burst, but we later discovered it was a bomb blast.
While we were trying to change the tyre, we spotted some Boko Haram gunmen creeping towards us. We began to fire in their direction while calling for a backup. Soon, the Boko Haram terrorists fled and left some rustled herds of cows behind.
“Our backup team arrived and began to chase after the insurgents who had already gone far into the bush. As they were making their way back, the vehicle ran over a massive bomb that exploded and killed nine of them instantly, while nine others were injured. I saw their vehicle as it was tossed up into the air,” Gambo further said.
Confirming the development, the state Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Sa’ina Buba, at the funeral of the slain hunters, said: “We were saddened by the death of these gallant hunters who have sacrificed their lives to protect us.
“We evacuated the corpses and the injured victims to the hospital last night. Seven of them died at the scene of the attack.”
“We call on the federal government of Nigeria to support these hunters with better weapons and vehicles to enable the hunters to provide the needed support to the military. The hunters know the terrain better and they understand the tactics of the terrorists. If we don’t give support to the local hunters and vigilante, very soon they would be discouraged and the terrorists would overrun our towns again,” the commissioner pleaded.
A House of Representatives member, Ahmed Satomi, who represents the area where the attack took place, also confirmed the attack.
“We have just buried seven hunters, God knows how many more would be buried again if the federal government of Nigeria continue to ignore the fact that we need a deliberate policy that will empower the youth vigilante to carry a better weapon that will end this fight. Last week it was the Zabarmari farmers that were buried in mass, today it is the Kayamla hunters.
We can’t continue like this,” the lawmaker said.
Oyo
In a related development, six gunmen said to be in military camouflage kidnapped a farmer identified as Wole Agboola while working on his farm at Abaodo area, Olukitibi village, Akinyele local government area of Oyo state.
Also, the whereabouts of some of the workers at the farm attacked by the gunmen was still unknown as at the time of this report.
It was learnt that the gunmen Monday stormed Agboola’s farm, along the new Ibadan-Oyo express way with guns and cutlasses, abducted him to an unknown destination while some of his workers, including his farm guards were also attacked during the operation.
While the workers at the farm were beaten, some of them were still said to be missing as at the time of sending this report.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state command, SP Lawrence Fadeyi, while confirming the story in a statement late Tuesday said: “On 28/12/2020 at about 1830 hrs, some armed men numbering about six and dressed in military camouflage sneaked into the piggery/fish farm located at Nagbede village via Aba-odo on foot and abducted one Oluwole Agboola ‘m’ the owner of the farm into the bush.”
“Immediately the report of the incident got to the notice of DPO Moniya, search party comprising plainclothes/tactical police teams, vigilantes, hunters, and Amotekun corps swung into action and were deployed to far and near bushes to comb the areas for possible arrest of the hoodlums and also getting the abductor released.
“Consequent upon this, concerted communal effort was intensified to complement the existing deployment already in place,” the statement said.
“The Commissioner of Police therefore implores good spirited members of the public with useful information to give to the Police to assist in the arrest of the criminal elements and others alike in the State while other means are being designed to stop future occurrence forthwith,” it further said.
Zamfara
And from Gusau, the Zamfara state capital, the state government Wednesday announced plans to establish orphanage schools across the state.
The efforts, government said, were to ensure children who were victims of armed banditry and now orphans in the state have access to basic education.
Chairman Universal Basic Education Board in the state, Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu Maradun stated this in an interview with newsmen at the end of a five-day retreat of basic education stakeholders on finalisation of Medium Term Basic Education strategic plan organised by the SUBEB in Gusau.
“Considering the banditry in the state, the Board observed that there are so many children who are now orphans, that was why we recommended to the state government to establish such schools across the state for them to have access to basic education like any other children and the project will soon be started,” he said.
On the retreat, he said the main objective was to review the 2017-2019 Medium Term Basic education strategic, to align the SUBEB’s short term plan with the ministerial plan, finalise the draft of 2020, 2021 and 2022 basic education plan and to share with the critical stakeholders the activities of the board.
On teachers’ recruitment exercise, Maradun stated that the board would soon begin the recruitment of newly qualified teachers to bridge the gap of inadequate professional teachers, saying the exercise would be at the local levels as qualified teachers would be given appointment to teach in their respective domains.
“We decided to recruit newly additional qualified teachers at local levels for them to teach within their localities to decongest those teachers who were working mainly in urban schools for the development of teaching and learning process in the state,” Maradun also said.
