TheCable

The United States has queried the wisdom behind Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh’s public claim that the military had identified the location of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

The country, which is assisting Nigeria in the rescue efforts, also said it could not independently confirm the claim by Nigeria’s defence chief.

Reuters quoted US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki as saying: “We don’t have independent information from the United States to support these reports you referenced.”

She added: “We, as a matter of policy and for the girls’ safety and wellbeing, would not discuss publicly this sort of information regardless.”

On Monday, Badeh said the military had located the girls but could not act with force.

He was speaking to members of the Citizen Initiative for Security Awareness (CISA), an NGO, who were on a solidarity campaign to the defence headquarters in Abuja.

“We want our girls back, I can tell you that our military can and will do it, but where they are held, can we go there with force?

“Nobody should say Nigerian military does not know what it is doing; we can’t kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back.

“So we are working, the President has empowered us to do the work, anybody castigating the military, definitely there is something wrong with him.

“The good news for the parents of the girls is that we know where they are, but we cannot tell you.

“We cannot come and tell you the military secret, just leave us alone, we are working to get the girls back,” he said.

The tone of Psaki’s statement is seen as a subtle protest at the way Nigerian officials handle sensitive information.