Uncertainty over Chibok girls release

All eyes were on Chad yesterday as the anxiety over the fate of the schoolgirls kidnapped over six months ago grew.

A Federal Government team was believed to have left for N’djamena, the Chadian capital, to continue talks with Boko Haram leaders to free the Chibok girls and end the insurgency in the Northeast.

The meeting in Chad, is a follow-up to last weekend’s talks between the government and the sect’s representatives in Saudi Arabia.

After that meeting, Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh announced a ceasefire. He ordered all field commanders to respect it.

But there was no word from the leaders of the sect and then, last weekend there were attacks on some villages in Borno State. Many people were killed, leading to questions over the alleged ceasefire..

A purported Boko Haram leader Danladi Ahmadu, told VOA’s Hausa service yesterday that he was heading for Chad to await word on when the talks would start.

Hassan Tukur, a top aide to President Goodluck Jonathan, told VOA that there was never a meeting planned for yesterday, despite a report to the contrary from another presidential aide, Dr. Doyin Okupe.  But Tukur said the negotiations with Boko Haram are “ongoing and legitimate”.

The government blamed some of the attacks after the ceasefire deal on “fringe” Boko Haram fighters.

Ahmadu said attacks in Damboa on Sunday were the work of armed robbers.

There were rumours of the movement of the girls from a location to the Chadian capital N’Djamena but no government official could confirm or deny this.

A “ceasefire” which was expected to herald the girls’ freedom seemed to have collapsed last weekend, with troops clashing with Boko Haram fighters in Adamawa and Borno states. Many died.

But the United States said that it would welcome the ceasefire and would join the world in hoping that the girls will be released.

There was anxiety yesterday on whether Boko Haram will live up to its pledge or if Chadian President Idris Deby could make the deal a reality.

For strategic reasons, it was gathered that the Presidency kept some ministers away from the deal with the insurgents.

It was learnt that the Presidency does not want any tactical blunder on the release of the girls.

Many foreign missions have opened desks to monitor the ongoing talks in Chad.

A top government official said: “We are all anxiously awaiting the outcome of the talks in N’Djamena; we are eager to see the agreement being sealed.

“I can tell you that all government officials are looking forward to Wednesday because the ceasefire and the release of Chibok girls will be a defining moment for this administration.

“If we have the girls back, this administration would have overcome a major challenge.”

The source said some logistics had been put in place to welcome the girls back into the country.

“I am aware that the girls will be flown in a chartered jet to Abuja from N’Djamena once they regain freedom. We are all in upbeat mood,” the source added.

Another source said: “We are keeping vigil because a few members of the President’s kitchen cabinet are handling this negotiation.

“In fact, there were rumours of the girls being allegedly moved from a location to N’Djamena but a former Deputy Governor who lent credence to it could not provide any shred of evidence.

“As the government is in suspense, the parents of the girls are also praying that the girls should be free as anticipated.”

Foreign Minister Aminu Wali said yesterday that the government hopes to end the conflict with Boko Haram soon and win the release of the kidnapped schoolgirls.

“I can say with some optimism, cautious optimism, that we are moving towards a situation where we’d be able to, in the very near future, to be able to get back our girls,” Wali said in Berlin, Germany.

“There is a tremendous amount of improvement in terms of the discussions that are going on now and also the possibility of having total cessation of hostilities and at the same time bringing back the girls and also normalcy in that part of northern Nigeria.”

Wali spoke at a news conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, following government discussions on the insurgency in Nigeria as well as areas of cooperation between the two countries.

Steinmeier said he hoped that the ceasefire would lead to the release of the girls.

He said he and French counterpart Laurent Fabius will at the weekend visit Nigeria.

Steinmeier said the fact that Nigeria was this week declared free of Ebola had been “one of the few rays of light in the fight against the deadly virus”.

There were indications last night that most foreign missions have opened desks to monitor the release of the girls.

A diplomat said: “We are as concerned as your country about the release of the girls. We are certainly following the talks in Chad.”

The United States has said that it would welcome the ceasefire if it works.

The Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State, Marie Harf stated this on Monday at a briefing in Washington DC.

In the transcript of the briefing posted on US Embassy’s site, Harf said: “We can confirm reports that a ceasefire has been announced, appears to have been put into place.

“We would welcome that ceasefire, call on all parties both to implement and maintain such a ceasefire, and hope that such a ceasefire would herald the return of peace to the northeast. This is a region that has had far too little of that.

“It’s our understanding that negotiations about a deal to release the girls continue. “Obviously, would join the world, I think, in hoping that these girls would be reunited with their families as soon as possible, but it’s our understanding those negotiations do continue.

“That’s our understanding. That’s the latest from the ground.

Asked if there was any kind of American involvement in the talks, Harf added: “I don’t believe so, but let me check. Not that I know of. But never say never; I’ll check.”