BBOG faults silence on Chibok girls’ rescue

The #BringBackOurGirls movement has expressed worries over what it described as a repeat of the “eerie silence” that characterised the earlier operations to secure the release of 219 Chibok girls, who have been in Boko Haram captivity for about 321 days.

The group said there has been no mention of efforts to rescue the schoolgirls in the 14 days of the planned six-week offensive against the violent Islamist sect.

The #BBOG in a statement in Abuja on Sunday on the second week of its ‘countdowntosixweeks’ on military operations against Boko Haram, encouraged the Federal Government to douse the anxieties of the Chibok parents and the general public on the fate of the girls.

“Based on the assurances given by our President and the leadership of the military, we have been expecting a concerted effort to rescue our 219 ChibokGirls, who have remained in the custody of the insurgents for over 300 days.

“It is thus disheartening that in the 14 days of the operations, there has so far not been any mention of the specific measures targeted at their rescue. We are immensely worried that there seems to be a repeat of the eerie silence that characterised earlier purported rescue operations of the girls,” the statement noted.

The coalition challenged the military to be unwavering in achieving their objective by reclaiming all the territories under Boko Haram occupation.

The group called for a robust security arrangement for returning the Internally Displaced Persons so that they could fully resettle into normal life as quickly as possible.

The movement regretted that the military had yet to take steps to respond to its call for third-party independently-verified accounts of the war.

“We do not wish that the efforts of our gallant troops be cast in any shadow of doubt by a disbelieving public because of previous disappointments,” he added.

It reiterated the importance of having journalists embedded among the ground troops to independently cover the counter-insurgency effort, noting that such practice was a global standard by militaries prosecuting war in various countries.

The group said the practice had been adopted by the Chadian military, who had allowed independent reportage of its battles against the terrorists.

The #BBOG said it looked forward to the victory of the military and the Multi-National Joint Task Force, expressing confidence that the nation would succeed in bringing back the abducted girls.