Abducted Chibok girls ‘not freed’

Reports that some of the Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram have been rescued are not true.

Director of defence information, Major-General Chris Olukolade, who earlier confirmed the news to TheCable, has retracted his statement.

Olukolade initially told TheCable that “some of the abducted Chibok girls are already in the barracks”, but he subsequently made an about-face, saying he had confirmed that the girls he referred to were not the abducted Chibok girls.

“Yes, we found out that they are not the same girls. They are different,” he said.

A few hours before the news broke, the national chairman of Chibok Association, Dr Pogu Bitrus, had expressed optimism that the girls would soon be rescued.

Speaking with TheCable on Tuesday, Bitrus disclosed that the Nigerian troops had recorded some success in their effort to rid Sambisa of Boko Haram.

“If you go to Sambisa now, they have cleared parts of that Boko Haram stronghold. The troops have made inroads into places where the girls are,” he said.

“We don’t have confirmation yet about the return of the girls, but we know that they are in two camps close to the border. We believe before the end of the day we will get a confirmation.”