President Goodluck Jonathan will today pay a one-day visit to Chibok, Borno State where over 200 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram members on April 14, 2014.
The abduction saga has attracted global attention with virtually all the super power countries rallying support for the Federal Government on how to rescue the girls.
Today’s visit will be the President’s first appearance in Chibok in the wake of pressures from critics that he was yet to meet parents of the abducted female students.
A top Presidency source confirmed yesterday that the President will be in Chibok in the morning from where he would proceed to Paris, France for a summit on regional security.
During the visit, President Jonathan will inspect the extent of damage on the school and other parts of the town, as well as have a meeting with parents of the abducted girls.
Meanwhile, the United States, US, has started using drones and manned surveillance aircrafts to search for the schoolgirls.
But signs of their whereabouts are yet to emerge, and the task is complicated by the possibility that the girls may have been separated into groups.
The US, which is supporting the Nigerian government’s efforts, will continue to deepen its efforts, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday while travelling to Saudi Arabia.
He said: “I have seen no intelligence come back that I am aware of that shows that we’ve located those girls,” he said.
The assets provide some of the best tools to try to find the girls, but the Nigerian government has shown some reluctance to use U.S. help, he said.
For now, the US is not sharing raw intelligence from its surveillance aircraft with Nigeria’s armed forces because the countries have still not established the intelligence-sharing protocols and safeguards needed for an intelligence-sharing agreement, Pentagon spokesman, Col. Steve Warren said.
That said, the intelligence gathered through the surveillance flights is being fed to an interdisciplinary team on the ground, and that team is analysing it and providing advice to the Nigerian government, he said.
Warren added that the manned and unmanned aircrafts being used are unarmed.
U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry called the kidnapping of the girls an “unconscionable crime,” vowing to do “everything possible to support the Nigerian government to return these young women to their homes and to hold the perpetrators to justice.
“I will tell you, my friends, I have seen this scourge of terror across the planet, and so have you. They don’t offer anything except violence,” he said in a statement. “They just tell people, ‘You have to behave the way we tell you to,’ and they will punish you if you don’t.”
Niger Delta monarchs pay Jonathan solidarity visit
Traditional Rulers of the Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria TROMPCON, yesterday visited President Jonathan in the State House, Abuja where they discussed issues of national importance.
During the meeting which was held behind closed doors, they told the President that they were worried by the abduction of the schoolgirls and the activities of the Boko Haram sect in general.
The leader of the delegation and paramount ruler of Mgbirichi/Abakuru Land of Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, Eze Akunueze Raphael Eze Ahurunkwe II, disclosed this to State House correspondents after the meeting.
“This is a courtesy visit to show solidarity to the President and discuss some issues affecting our nation. Of course, we are worried about the issue of Chibok girls and the activities of Boko Haram in general. We are very prayerful that Mr President, as he has been working assiduously to make sure they are released. We are very prayerful,” he said.
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