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| A screengrab taken on May 12, 2014, from a video of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram obtained by AFP shows girls, wearing the full-length hijab and praying in an undisclosed rural location. Boko Haram released a new video on claiming to show the missing Nigerian schoolgirls, alleging they had converted to Islam and would not be released until all militant prisoners were freed. A total of 276 girls were abducted on April 14 from the northeastern town of Chibok, in Borno state, which has a sizeable Christian community. Some 223 are still missing. AFP PHOTO / BOKO HARAM RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / BOKO HARAM" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS |
The Presidential Fact-Finding Committee on the Abducted Female
Students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, has asked the federal
government to take advantage of foreign support, backed with hi-tech
equipment, to locate the abducted girls and rescue them.
It also called for the beefing up of arms and ammunition of the
military as well as the strengthening of security agencies in the
theatre of operation.
The committee made the recommendations in its 50-page report
submitted to the government. The 27-member panel chaired by Ibrahim Sabo, a retired brigadier
general, was inaugurated by former President Goodluck Jonathan on May 6,
2014, to, among other things find out the circumstances leading to the
abduction of the 276 female students of the Government Secondary School,
Chibok, Borno State on April 14, 2014 by Boko Haram terrorists.
The establishment of the committee followed claims and counterclaims
about the circumstances and the actual number of students abducted by
the terrorists.
The panel submitted its report to then President Jonathan, but its details have never been made public.
In the report, the Committee, which sat for five weeks, said
altogether 276 students out of the 395 female students that registered
for the WAEC examination were abducted by the terrorists.
It further stated that while 57 of the students escaped from the
insurgents after the abduction, the remaining 219 were unaccounted for.
It said five of the 57 students that escaped were found in the bushes near Damboa.
It said at the time the girls were abducted the school was relying on
extant security arrangement and had only two guards while there was no
electricity because its only generator had broken down.
The panel said intelligence available to it at the time it was
submitting its report to government showed that the girls were in
different camps in and around Sambisa Forest, which covers an area of
60,000 square kilometres with scrubby semi desert tangle of low trees
and bushes in the corner of the North-east zone.
“The abducted girls have been split into groups under the watch of
separate syndicates as confirmed from various sightings of the
insurgents at different locations,” it said.
“Another batch of girls is believed to have been transported by canoe to an Island around the Lake Chad.
“Insurgent attacks on communities and markets situated in Hyuum,
Askira Uba LGA, Klakaisa and Sha’awa villages of Damboa LGA in search of
food and other supplies, indicate that some of the girls could be
within the area.”
The Committee suggested two ways of rescuing the girls, namely negotiation and military operation.
It explained that the negotiation initiative would require dialogue
with hostage takers through trusted intermediaries and conflict
mediators while the military option would involve the deployment of
counter-terrorism and/or hostage rescue team, which would undertake a
surgical strike storming the locations where the hostages are held.
It listed the advantages and disadvantages of the two options.
The Committee told the government that in determining which option to
adopt, the advantages and disadvantages of each approach should be
carefully examined in the context of the hostage crisis and new
developments.
“The negotiation initiative is inclusive while the military option is
exclusive to the team that would be involved in the rescue operation,”
the Committee said.
While citing the successful release of the 52 US officials who were
held hostages for 444 days at the US Embassy in Tehran, Iran from 1979
to 1981, the Committee listed the advantages of the negotiation approach
to include a greater likelihood of rescuing the girls alive and safe
from harm and the provision of an opening to broader discussions and
understanding that will eventually lead to a peace agreement.
On the other hand, the Committee said by adopting the military
option, Nigeria would have, among others, complied with the
internationally accepted norms of non-negotiation with terrorists; boost
morale within the country and among the security agencies; and send a
strong message to the insurgents that the government was not weak.
It however noted that the constraints of the option were insufficient
number of mobilized troops; inadequate combat equipment (power,
mobility and communication); porous/unmanned borders with Cameroun, Chad
and Niger Republics, which provide the insurgents the advantage of safe
haven, access to mercenaries and weapons; and time constraints in the
procurement process for combat equipment.
While stating that most of the people it interacted with during its
fact-finding work did not consider the military option advisable “in
order to protect the abducted girls,” the Committee however said should
the government decide to adopt the approach, a thorough assessment of
the strength and capability of the military and the Boko Haram
insurgents must be undertaken.
It suggested that the assessment of the military should be in the
areas of personnel, equipment, the terrain, logistics and state of
preparedness of the rescue team at the conflict site and in geographical
location for possible reinforcement.
For the insurgents, it said, “there should be an appreciation of
their supply route, personnel, fire power, camouflage tactics and
guerrilla war strategy. “
The Committee said from its findings the insurgents are armed with
sophisticated military hardware such as Armoured Personnel Carriers
(APCs), Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), among
other weapons.
It said, “The sophistication of their equipment has emboldened the
insurgents leading to an increase in the frequency and intensity of
their attacks. The Nigerian military and other security agencies should
be provided with additional and superior weapons to counter the
insurgents.”
The Committee also recommended that the military should review its rules of engagement to appropriately counter the insurgents.
It asked the government to also fully co-opt the Youth Volunteer
Group, otherwise known as Civilian JTF and the Shuwa tribe into the
search and rescue of the Chibok girls.
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