According to a reportby the Guardian UK, the Goodluck Jonathan administration welcomed an aid package and assistance from the US, the UK and France in looking for the girls but viewed any action to be taken against kidnapping as a “national issue”. Read the UK Guardian report after the cut...
British armed forces offered to attempt to rescue nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, but were rebuffed by Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s president at the time, the Observer has learned.
In a mission named Operation Turus, the RAF conducted air reconnaissance over northern Nigeria for several months, following the kidnapping of 276 girls from the town of Chibok in April 2014. “The girls were located in the first few weeks of the RAF mission,” a source involved in Operation Turus told the Observer. “We offered to rescue them, but the Nigerian government declined.”
The girls were then tracked by the aircraft as they were dispersed into progressively smaller groups over the following months, the source added. Chibok is located in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state. Today 195 of the girls are still missing.
Those who have managed to escape from their kidnappers have told of a life of torture, enslavement, rape, and forced marriages in captivity. Notes from meetings between UK and Nigerian officials, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, also suggest that Nigeria shunned international offers to rescue the girls.
While Nigeria welcomed an aid package and assistance from the US, the UK and France in looking for the girls, it viewed any action to be taken against kidnapping as a “national issue”.
“Nigeria’s intelligence and military services must solve the ultimate problem,” said Jonathan in a meeting with the UK’s then Africa minister, Mark Simmonds, on 15 May 2014. A document summarising a meeting in Abuja in September 2014 between Nigeria’s national security adviser and James Duddridge MP, former under-secretary of state at the Foreign Office, shows Operation Turus had advanced to the point where rescue options were being discussed.
Minutes from a meeting the following month between Major-General James Chiswell and Jonathan hinted at the frustration felt by those trying to prompt some action from Nigeria. “[President] Jonathan was still focused on ‘platforms’.
General Chiswell said again we could offer advice on what equipment might make sense and how weapon systems might be best deployed,” the October 2014 document stated. The Nigerian government did not respond to a request for comment.
The Foreign Office said: “We wouldn’t comment on specific operational details, which are a matter for the Nigerian government and military.” Jonathan has drawn criticism at home and abroad for a lack of action and perceived apathy over the kidnappings. The government was slow to mount any response in the weeks after the girls were taken.
The governor of Borno, Kashim Shettima, also publicly criticised Jonathan for failing to even call him or any other state official for 19 days after the kidnappings. Jonathan also hit out at theworldwide #BringBackOurGirls campaign, branding it a “manipulation” of the victims of the attack. Boko Haram had raided the dormitories of the government secondary school at Chibok.
The girls staying there had braved warnings of an attack to sit their final examinations. Boko Haram looted the school and then burned it to the ground. The kidnappings also blighted the lives of the girls from the town who were not taken away, as many have been too scared to continue their education. In addition to Nigeria, Boko Haram is active in regions of Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
According to Unicef, more than 1.3 million children have now been displaced. Some of those taken by Boko Haram have been forced to become child soldiers: one in five suicide bombers in Nigeria are believed to be children, and three-quarters of those are girls.
30 comments:
"British armed forces offered to attempt to rescue nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, but were rebuffed by Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s president at the time"
The governor of Borno, Kashim Shettima, also publicly criticised Jonathan for failing to even call him or any other state official for 19 days after the kidnappings. Jonathan also hit out at theworldwide #BringBackOurGirls campaign, branding it a “manipulation” of the victims of the attack"
May we never experience anything again like the ineffectual, corrupt, confused GEJ in the leadership of our country.
Instead of equipping our armed forces, GEJ and his friends looted the funds meant for that purpose and sent them to fight Boko haram with catapult.
And all he could do is to be jumping from one country to another deceiving himself.
. ~BONARIO~says so via NOKIA LUMIA
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Will wait to hear what GEJ has to say for his government.
Lets wait for comments from Linda Ikeji's Paddy Reno Omokri and his comments
The handling of the Chibok girls' dilemma was GEJ's undoing. As a weak leader he leaned on the advice of a northern cabal who cared only about juicy defense contracts and illicit acquisition of our collective wealth.
Stupid talk,what are we to do with this comment now.
Pretty dumb and clueless decision ever and hey it's taking its toll on us.Just so y'all know,i ain't a member of any political party but just saying.
God will punish UK, US, France and co... All of you who made the evil plan that landed Nigeria into this mess today. God of vengeance will visit you in His fierce anger and pay you for all the innocent lives and poor people's welfare and properties that your evil act brought to destruction. Who told you idiots that 276 girls could be taking only physics exam in an educationally backward state like Borno? not even the capital maiduguri which could have made it look somewhat possible could boast of 150 female students taking only physics exams as claimed. A science course for that matter in far north hmmm. RAF didn't see anything to start with. All those Chibok this, Chibok that was a plan they made from the scratch to distract the then Nig govt and give their favored opposition party APC something to deceive and win the masses hearts with. Jonathan's administration was not favoring UK and US. Fact. Lolz.. So the game is let's Make it look like boko Haram really abducted some innocent girls and taken to a certain forest called sambisa. Thereby making it extremely had for any conventional fighter to offensively clear sambisa forest when the picture had been successfully established that some innocent girls are held in there. Fresh mission is now get the girls out first unhurt, it's no more about war against terror, it's now about to negotiate with evil men so that our girls are not killed. Lolz. Keep shouting, "bring back our girls" make sure you criticize the President and pressure him to focus more on the girls. If Nigeria military had fought and killed all boko Haram in sambisa forest. The prepared case against Jonathan's administration would've been that his military killed 276 innocent girls. Where are the innocent girls??? We know that Chibok thing was a heavy scam. Their parents never appeared, and so was their teachers. Na only you Waka come? That was parent of 276 girls. So British Royal Air Force should go to ISIS for all I care... Evil people.
GOD punish jonathan nd all nigeria president.. shitttt all of dem no wetin dey go on... dis country is fucked up..
And what did they want in return for rescuing the girls? They should not be trusted o, they will always paint themselves as the saints
Mike ebo or what did you call urself, so your stupidity know no bound for you to still be thinking that the chibok kidnapped was a conspiracy theory when the like of Oby Ekwuesile and her bring back our girls groups were busy spending the better part of their time sitting outside to campaign for their freedom! Only God will judge people like you and GEJ for this great crime against humanity
Thank u brother for this heavenly comment of yours the truth shall come out some day period.
If Mike Ebo believes the chibok saga is a ruse and false. Good. May the Almighty God allow such to befall the family of Mike Ebo. We are praying for such catastrophe to be their portion too. After all it's all false.
Good thing he refused...they would be looking for ways to establish bases in our country... Today they're rescuing girls what do you think they would do later?...these ppl should not be trusted..they paint themselves as saints,but dey always av an ulterior motive
b4 nko evil people who'd want to colonize some major things in Nigeria!
-D great anonymous now as Vivian Reginalds
We don't need Uk paper to tell us what we already know. He was never sincere on the issue of Boko Haram.
The shallowest president nigeria ever had is Gej,its the major reason I cant score Obj above average in leadership test bcs his succession team is so largely flawed and worse than him,Gej is an embarrassment to good leadership bcs his capacity and competence is wayvless than the responsibility that luckily feel on his lap hence his educational qualification and persomal character development also not adequate to do well.
Very sad past that must never happen again amen.
The shallowest president nigeria ever had is Gej,its the major reason I cant score Obj above average in leadership test bcs his succession team is so largely flawed and worse than him,Gej is an embarrassment to good leadership bcs his capacity and competence is wayvless than the responsibility that luckily feel on his lap hence his educational qualification and persomal character development also not adequate to do well.
Very sad past that must never happen again amen.
The shallowest president nigeria ever had is Gej,its the major reason I cant score Obj above average in leadership test bcs his succession team is so largely flawed and worse than him,Gej is an embarrassment to good governance bcs his capacity and competence is wayless than the responsibility that luckily feel on his lap hence his educational qualification and personal character development also not adequate to do well.
Very sad past that must never happen again amen.
Can d UK go into the US, Israel or even common SA for a rescue mission? They and their allies should have provided GEJ with the Intel and equipment to save those lifes. They have always wanted to turn us to Libya and Irag.Tnx to GE for d insight
West planned the kidnapping because of our oil, they wanted to come to Nigeria because of our oil, they wanted to use Nigeria as another base and they would have stayed in Nigeria for some decades like they are currently doing in oil rich middle east countries.. Nigeria is number six oil producing country all over the world.. West are interested in Nigeria because of our rich resources.. I would only blame Jonathan for not arming our military department, i would only blame him for not doing enough for our soldiers to counter those terrorist.. But the west are the one sponsoring Boko Haram...Believe it or not..Thank God Jonathan didn't allow them to come.. Look at Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen now.. These middle east countries are very rich in oil and west went there with the scope of stopping terrorism in those regions and they've turned those places to something else.. Who are those sponsoring ISIS and others terrorists gangs? The west are doing it... They are doing it in oil rich countries in order to steal their oils...
Guy, the grammatical errors in your piece are very embarrassing to the tribe you come from. What a waste!
Guy, the grammatical errors in your piece are very embarrassing to the tribe you come from. What a waste!
Guy, the grammatical errors in your piece are very embarrassing to the tribe you come from. What a waste!
my pple make una use una head.another diversion frm apc.
The game called politics. It was a collective decision.h
May the heavens bless your soul for this comment
Mumu Mike. Ode! You are thinking from your abuse.
Only a claim!!!!!
You all failed to ask them one question. Since GEJ refused, why didn't they rescue the girls after GEJ left? People just love to lie. Why didn't they make it public during his tenure? They are coming out 2 yes later. Pathetic
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