Barely three weeks after 21 of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted in April 2014 by Boko Haram terrorists from Chibok, Borno State, were rescued, another victim of the abduction was yesterday found by soldiers and handed over to the state government.
Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman, said the girl, identified as Maryam Ali Maiyanga, was carrying a 10-month-old son when she was discovered among escapees from Boko Haram hideouts in Sambisa forest who were being screened by soldiers.
The Army said Maiyanga and her son were discovered by troops of 121 Battalion, Nigerian Army, deployed at Pulka, Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State, for the anti-insurgency war, code-named Operation Lafiya Dole.
The latest Chibok girl found by the soldiers brings to 22 the number that has officially regained freedom this year, from the over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram from the school hostels in April 2014. The girls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, were preparing to write the Senior School Certificate Examination. Twenty-one of them had been released on October 13 after negotiations between the federal government and the terrorists.
Maiyanga was taken to the unit’s medical facility for a medical check-up before being handed over to the state government, the according to the Army spokesman.
Usman, however, disclosed that the troops have been working round the clock to clear the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists wherever they might be hibernating and to also rescue all persons held hostages by terrorists.
Speaking to journalists in Maiduguri yesterday after handing over the freed Chibok schoolgirl to the state government, the head of the anti-insurgency operation, Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Lucky Irabor, said the war on terrorism was drawing to a close. However, he regretted that the military “lost an officer and six soldiers in an attack on the military in Malam Fatori.”
Meanwhile, the #BringBackOurGirls Movement has applauded the federal government, the military, and other stakeholders for their efforts in the rescue of some of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls. In a statement yesterday in Abuja by its spokesperson, Sesugh Akume, the group said, “We welcome news of the return of another of our abducted #ChibokGirls.”
Akume stated, “Preliminary investigations on our part show that Maryam Ali (Number 198 on our list), a school prefect, is from Askira Uba and was abducted along with her twin, Halima Ali (Number 197), who is yet to return. We shall update the public with more details as necessary.
“We, therefore, applaud the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari, the military formations and other security working day and night to rout the terrorists and rescue all Nigerians in captivity.”
The group, however, lamented Ali’s death. “The news of the death of the Commanding Officer of the 272 Task Force Tank Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Muhammed Abu Ali, a highly-rated, young officer and four other members of his team, in a separate incident at Mallam Fatori, is unfortunate and saddening. We send our heartfelt condolences especially to their families, and the Nigerian military,” the #BringBackOurGirls Movement stated.
