Abducted Chibok schoolgirls
According to tweets posted on the Twitter handle of the Nigeria Defence Headquarters, the freed victims included 200 girls and 93 women.
Daily post reports that three major terrorists camp were destroyed in the well-coordinated attacks that included the destruction of the notorious Tokumbere camp in the Sambisa Forest.
Speaking on the operation, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, said he could not confirm the identity of the freed victims and their origins and he could not state if any of them was from Chibok until after thorough screening and proper investigations.
He said: “I can only confirm the rescued this afternoon of 200 girls and 93 women in different camps in the forest.
“We are yet to determine their origin as all the freed persons are now being screened and profiled. Please don’t misquote me on their origin. We will provide more details later."
According to the Independent UK, the military said in a statement: “Troops this afternoon rescued 200 girls and 93 women from Sambisa Forest. We cannot confirm if the Chibok girls are in this group”.
The military added that adding that Nigerian troops had also destroyed three camps run by the militants.
Tweets by the defense headquaters also confirms the reports:
Last week Friday, it was reported that the military had attacked the last known hideout of the Boko Haram terror sect, the Sambisa forest with the use of warplanes.
Meanwhile, Colonel Sani Usman told Reuters in a text message “The troops rescued 200 abducted girls (not Chibok girls) and 93 women,” .
Earlier today, reports indicated that another set of soldiers may have arrived Sambisa Forest in Borno State as part of the ongoing military bombardment on the Boko Haram militants.
Last October the Nigerian government said it had secured an agreement for a ceasefire and the release of the girls taken from Chibok, but Boko Haram subsequently denied this.
Boko Haram claimed the abduction of 276 girls from a secondary school in Chibok, also in Borno, on April 14 of last year.
Fifty-seven girls escaped within hours of the attack but 219 remained in captivity.
In the weeks following the mass abduction, Nigerian security sources and locals in Borno said there were indications the girls had been taken to the Sambisa Forest.
But defence officials and experts agreed that they were likely separated over the last 13 months, casting significant doubt on the possibility that they were being held together as a group.
Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, vowed to “marry them off” or sell them as “slaves.”
The Chibok attack brought unprecedented world attention to the Nigeria’s Islamist uprising.
Celebrities and prominent personalities including US First Lady Michelle Obama joined the Twitter campaign #BringBackOurGirls that attracted supporters worldwide.
But Boko Haram has also been blamed for hundreds of other kidnappings, especially targeting women and girls across northeast Nigeria.
READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/429567-boko-haram-rescues-300-girls-from-sambisa-forest.html
