BY Fredrick Nwabufo
The Nigerian military says it has rescued 200 girls and 93 women from Sambisa forest, a stronghold of the Boko Haram sect in Borno state.
Making the announcement on its official Twitter handle on Tuesday evening, the defence headquarters said it could not confirm the identity of the freed victims and their origins, hence it could not state if any of them was from Chibok until thorough screening and proper investigations had been completed.
“Troops this afternoon rescued 200 girls & 93 women from #Sambisa Forest. We cannot confirm if the #ChibokGirls are in this group,”read the statement.
“Troops captured and destroyed 3 terrorists camps including the notorious Tokumbere camp in the #Sambisa Forest Operation.
“#Sambisa Forest: The freed persons are now being screened and profiled. We will bring you details later.”
Sambisa forest became popular after the abduction of over 2oo schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, on April 14, 2015. Unconfirmed reports had it that the girls were kept in the forest.
Their abduction sparked a global reaction, with the international community pledging to assist Nigeria in securing their freedom. But all efforts to rescue them have not yielded the desired result.
At a security briefing on April 15, 2015, Mike Omeri, director-general of the national orientation agency and coordinator of the national information centre, had disclosed that operations were going on in Sambisa and the areas where the girls are believed to be held.
Around the same time, Sambo Dasuki, the national security adviser, assured Nigerians that security agencies would liberate Sambisa before May 29, 2015, when Goodluck Jonathan would hand over to Muhammadu Buhari as president of the country.
“Right now, all Boko Haram camps, except Sambisa Forest, have been destroyed,” he said. “Every movement of the terrorists is being monitored and every necessary detail is being taken care of to rid the country of the last bastion of terrorists’ infestation.”
But on April 23, it was reported that soldiers were retreating from Sambisa after three civilian JTF members were killed by a land mine believed to have been set by Boko Haram members.
But the defence headquarters (DHQ) refuted the reports, claiming that its operations were gaining grounds.
“Troops have not retreated from Sambisa forest as claimed by sme sources. Rather, the operation is progressing and gaining increasing momentum towards clearing all terrorists hideouts in the forest,” read a statement issued by DHQ.
This website uses cookies.