The purported Secretary General of terrorist Boko Haram sect, Danladi Ahmadu, who represented the group and negotiated the recent ceasefire agreement with the Nigerian government, has affirmed that the abducted Chibok schoolgirls would be released soon to Chadian President, Idriss Derby, for onward presentation to the Nigerian government.
Ahmadu, who spoke on the Hausa Service of the Voice of America on Friday, also stated that the ceasefire agreement with the federal government was still valid.
In a swift reaction to the promise of freedom for the Chibok schoolgirls, the Principal Private Secretary to the President, Ambassador Hassan Tukur, who has been leading the federal government team for negotiation, simply said: “We will keep our fingers crossed”.
About 219 schoolgirls are still missing after the terrorists invaded Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in April and abducted over 270 girls.
Many had been worried when some members of the sect attacked villages in Borno and Adamawa states, less than 24 hours after the said ceasefire was announced.
But Ahmadu disclosed that the final meeting between the group and the federal government to finally seal the ceasefire agreement had been scheduled for next Monday in Ndjamena, Chad, and to be supervised by the Chadian leader.
He added that an enlarged meeting of the group had been fixed for the weekend to prepare ground for the Monday meeting with the federal government and affirmed that the final ceasefire and the release of the Chibok schoolgirls were promises that would be fulfilled by the group.
Ahmadu also disclosed to VOA that the group and the federal government were in close consultations over arrangements for the Monday meeting in Chad.
Commenting on the latest kidnap of over 40 women and girls in the border villages between Adamawa and Borno states, the Secretary General maintained that as far as Boko Haram was concerned, it is not aware of the latest kidnap and attacks.
He added that the group was investigating the latest kidnap and attacks to determine the involvement of its members, admitting that many anti-social groups have infiltrated Boko Haram.
Danladi Ahmadu stated that political thugs, armed robbers, kidnappers, hired assassins and other anti-social groups now parade themselves as members of the sect, but was quick to add that if the ceasefire agreement is sealed, all the groups would fizzle out.
No fewer than 50 women and girls were abducted by suspected Boko Haram members from Gartu in Michika, Adamawa State and Waga Mongoro, a border village between Madagali in Adamawa State and Gwoza in Borno State after a ceasefire agreement with the insurgents was announced by Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh.
The terrorist sect allegedly signed the ceasefire agreement with the federal government in Saudi Arabia on October 17.
The ceasefire agreement was announced by Badeh at the end of a two-day Coordinating Conference on Cameroon-Nigeria Trans-Border Military Operations at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Headquarters in Abuja.
A presidency source said consistent losses suffered by the terrorist group and the renewed determination of the military to wipe them out forced the sect to sign the ceasefire deal.
The Boko Haram terrorists have been causing havoc in the North-east through a wave of bombings, assassinations and abductions while fighting to “overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.”
Badeh said that the ceasefire agreement with the terrorists would not affect the accord reached with Cameroon for joint security border operations.
He further directed all the service chiefs to comply with the new ceasefire agreement. (Corruption Freeland, www.corruption.com.ng)
