1,000 DAYS AFTER: PRESIDENT BUHARI RECOMMITS TO RETURN OF CHIBOK SCHOOLGIRLS

As the country, nay, the world, today commemorates the 1,000th day of the abduction of schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, President Muhammadu Buhari has recommitted the Federal Government to securing the release of the youngsters kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents.

"We are grateful to God that on this landmark day, we are not completely in the depths of despair, but buoyed with hope that our daughters will yet rejoin their families and loved ones. Three of them have been recovered by our diligent military, while the freedom of 21 others was secured through engagement with their captors. We are hopeful that many more will still return as soon as practicable," President Buhari said.

BOKO HARAM: US Claims to have Locate Clusters of Chibok Girls

The American and African forces sent to Cameroon to fight Boko Haram have, on several occasions, located clusters of the schoolgirls kidnapped by the militant group two years ago, United States officials said.

Rescue operations have not been carried out, the officials said, because of fears that any ensuing battle with Boko Haram fighters would put the captives at risk, or incite some form of retaliation against hostages still being held in other areas.

Operation to recover the Chibok girls is alive and ongoing

The Nigerian Military says operation to recover the Chibok girls is alive and still ongoing but added that it will not be in a hurry to rescue the secondary schoolgirls in Chibok who were abducted in April 2014.

The Acting Director, Defence Information, Military Headquarters, Abuja, Col. Rabe Abubakar, who said this at a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, noted that while it was of utmost concern to the military to rescue the girls, the operation required demanded adequate patience and planning.

Col. Rabe Abubakar added that recent efforts by the military in the rescue of over 200 women and children held captive by Boko Haram proved that the military was on course in recovering the girls.

He said, “The issue of the low morale of the Nigerian military men has now become a thing of the past. The operation to recover the Chibok girls is alive and still ongoing. We have continued to make rescue efforts, and we will do all within our powers to bring the girls.

More than 60 women, girls escape their Boko Haram abductors;

Maiduguri - More than 60 women and girls abducted last month by suspected Boko Haram militants have escaped their captors, sources said Sunday, but more than 200 schoolgirls are still being held by the militants.

Local vigilante Abbas Gava said he had "received an alert from my colleagues ... that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had made it back home" late Friday.

A high-level security source in the Borno state capital Maiduguri, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, confirmed the escape.

Boko Haram Gunmen kill "many" in attack on Borno village

Suspected Islamist Boko Haram militants stormed a village in Borno State on Saturday, killing several people and torching houses close to where more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped two months ago, a witness said.

Clad in military uniforms, the attackers raided Koronginim in a convoy of sport utility and military vehicles, the witness told Reuters by telephone, asking not to be identified.

The attackers shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) before opening fire and killing "many", the witness said. "Two of their leaders were giving orders that they should shoot anyone on sight," the witness added.

There was mass abduction of students at Chibok - Fact-finding Committee chairman

TEXT OF THE ADDRESS BY BRIGADIER-GENERAL IBRAHIM A. SABO (rtd), CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENTIAL FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE ON THE ABDUCTION OF CHIBOK SCHOOLGIRLS, AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE COMMITTEE’S REPORT, AT STATE HOUSE, ASO VILLA, ABUJA; ON FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2014.
Protocol

On the 6th of May, this year, Your Excellency, Mr President, inaugurated a Fact-finding Committee on the mass abduction that took place in the small hours of the 14th of April, 2014, at Government Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State. In defining the mandate of the Committee, Your Excellency’s directive was as clear as crystal. On that occasion, you stated unequivocally that the Committee was neither a judicial, nor an administrative panel of inquiry.

2. Your Excellency also stated that the Committee’s work was not a substitute for on-going efforts by the security and intelligence agencies to secure freedom for the schoolgirls, who were forcibly snatched from their hostels where they resided while writing their West African Senior School Certificate examinations.

I Can Secure The Release of Chibok Schoolgirls - Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Thursday that he could reach out to the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents, but regretted that the Federal Government had yet to give him the green light to act.

Obasanjo, in an interview on the Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation monitored in Kaduna, however, did not say if he had made formal request to the government to intervene.

“I have ways of reaching them(Boko Haram) but I have not been given the go ahead,” he added.

Boko Haram Terrorists abduct another 20 women near chibok

Suspected Islamist gunmen abducted about 20 women from a nomadic settlement near the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok where more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped two months ago, a local official said.

The ethnic Fulani women were taken after the assailants attacked a settlement known as Garkin Fulani at midday yesterday and ordered the women into their vehicles at gunpoint, Alhaji Tar, a member of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, said in a phone interview. They were driven off to an unknown location, he said.

“We got the information that they went there and took away the women at the time none of the males were there,” Tar said. “The three young men they met there could not help the women, as the gunmen also ordered the three of them to enter the Hilux vans and took all of them away.”

Boko Haram Disguised as Preacher, kill scores in Borno

Recent Timeline of attacks:

Sunday - Tuesday: At least 200 people killed by gunmen in military dress in a wave of attacks on six villages in the Gwoza area of Borno state.
Wednesday: Some 45 people killed by militants posing as preachers in Barderi village near Maiduguri, the capital Borno State
Thursday: Two killed in gunfire exchange in village of Madagali, Adamawa state

Boko Haram Islamist militants launched an attack in a village near the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, killing about 45 people.

Speaking to the BBC, a Survivors said the attackers said they had come to preach, before opening fire on a crowd that gathered. Meanwhile, residents and officials fear at least 200 people were killed in a wave of attacks earlier this week.

The militants came into the village of Barderi, near the University of Maiduguri on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday night, telling people to gather to hear them preach, but then turned the guns on the crowd.

The insurgents have used various tactics to gather residents together when they enter a village before attacking them.

UPDATES ON CHIBOK GIRLS: OBAMA DEPLOYS MORE TROOPS

The United States has deployed troops to join the search for the over 200  schoolgirls abducted by the extremist Boko Haram sect in Chibok, Borno State on April 15. President Barack Obama has notified the Congress of the deployment of 80 military personnel, who  will be based in Chad, Nigeria’s northern neighbour. Their mission is to help locate the kidnapped girls.

Obama has sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and to the Senate, notifying lawmakers about the steps underway to assist in the return of the abducted girls.

Chibok Schoolgirls: Israel experts in Nigeria to hunt for abducted girls

Israel has sent intelligence experts to Nigeria to help search for more than 200 schoolgirls abducted last month by the Boko Haram sect, an Israeli official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The team included people with experience in dealing with hostage situations, will join a growing international effort to track down the children.

“These are not operational troops, they’re there to advise,” the Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

BREAKING NEWS: President Goodluck Jonathan cancels visit to Chibok

Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan cancels visit to Chibok where 200 schoolgirls were abducted by the Boko Haram Terrorists more than a month ago due to security fears.

Details to follows..

Senate Summons Service Chiefs, IGP, NSA, Defence Minister, Police Affair Minister Over Emergency Rule Extension

Following the the latest request by the Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan for further extension of emergency rule in the northeastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, the Senate has on Wednesday invited the Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police, IGP to appear Thursday to brief the Nigerian Upper legislative Chamber on the security situation in the affected states where state of emergency was imposed before commencing debates on the president's request for extension of the emergency rule.

Others invited by the Nigeria Senate are: National Security Adviser (NSA), Defence Minister and the Minister of Police Affair.

Ashimolowo Urges Christians to Pray for Kidnapped Chibok Schoolgirls

The Senior Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) in London, Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo has called on the Christians to pray earnestly for the release of the schoolgirls kidnapped by the Boko Haram Islamist terrorists in Chibok, Borno state.

He said the situation leaves room for suspicion of collusion with the government and Boko Haram supporters.

Exactly month ago (April 14) the Islamist Boko Haram group kidnapped more than 200 school girls in Borno state with the claims that majority of them are Christians students of the area.

BREAKING NEWS: President Jonathan asks National Assembly for six months extension of emergency rule in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa

The Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan has requested from the National Assembly an extension of the state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe by six months.

The request was read on the Senate floor on Tuesday morning.

The state of emergency rule was first introduced by president Jonathan in the three states in May last year, before it was extended by another six months in November when it became difficult for the government to contained the activities of the dreaded Islamist Terrorist, Boko Haram who are hell bent in their attacks in the Nigeria North-Eastern states .

Anglican leader Justin Welby warns of any Negotiation with Islamist terrorists

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby warned Sunday of the difficulties of negotiating with an “utterly merciless” group Boko Haram, but called for active contact with the Nigerian Islamists over their abduction of scores of schoolgirls.

The Nigerian authorities have been attempting to negotiate with Boko Haram for some time but is it feasible? The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has worked in Nigeria and negotiated with armed groups - including a predecessor of Boko Haram in the north. He talks to the BBC's Shaun Ley.

Chibok Girls: Hollywood celebrities and Imams agree - #RealMenDontBuyGirls

Hollywood celebrities, including Sean Penn, Justin Timberlake, Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher, Jamie Foxx, and others are tweeting photos of themselves holding a sign saying "Real Men Don't Buy Girls." Islamic scholars agree.

International organization for Islamic Affairs has also condemned the kidnapping of the School Girls in Chibok, Borno state, Nigeria.

We're talking about Boko Haram, the Islamist militant group that's taken nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls captive. The group, which opposes secular Western education (among other things) has been active in Nigeria for years. But as The Christian Science Monitor's reporter in Nigeria explains, 

"The numbers of those being killed by the Boko Haram insurgents, combined with the grisly operations they engineered, reached a critical mass after nearly 10 months of ever more horrific attacks on civilians, churches, boys, roadways, mosques, and bus stations." 

Protest Leader Of #BringBackOurGirls, Naomi Mutah Nyadar arrested in Abuja - PREMIUM TIMES

The leader of the ongoing protest pressuring the Nigerian government to act and rescue over 240 schoolgirls abuducted in Chibok, Borno state has been arrested.

Naomi Mutah Nyadar was picked up from her home in the city by the police early Monday morning and is detained at Asokoro police station at the moment.

“We believe it is in connection with the protests she is leading,” her lawyer, Samuel Ogala, of the Falana and Falana Chambers told Journalists.

Mrs. Nyadar has sustained the #BringBackOurGirls protest at the Unity Fountain, less than 200 metres away from the Transcorp Hilton Hotels venue of the planed World Economic Forum, WEF, starting in less than 52 hours. The protest ground could be sighted from the left wing of the hotel’s rooms.

Fresh Facts: Borno Governor caused kidnap of Chibok schoolgirls – WAEC

According to WAEC, the kidnap of over 250 schoolgirls in Chibok may not have occurred if the Borno State Government had heeded the advice of an examination body, fresh facts have emerged.

Aware of the poor security situation in Borno and worried about the safety of students, the West African Examination Council, WAEC, declined to conduct its Senior School Certificate Examination in unsafe parts of Borno, including Chibok.

But that was until the state governor, Kashim Shettima, assured of adequate security measures, an official has said.

The head of WAEC’s National Office in Nigeria, Charles Eguridu, stated this on Friday night in Abuja while answering questions from several women including First Lady Patience Jonathan, wives of state governors, female legislators at federal and state levels, and leaders of various women organizations.

Exclusive: Nigerian Girls 'alive' and Deal is 'within reach'

A hostage negotiator in direct contact with the kidnappers of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria tells Channel 4 News their safe release is "within reach", but that their fate rests on a knife-edge.

"The girls, we believe, are alive but they have been moved from the location to which they were originally taken," the intermediary told Channel 4 News. "It would not be hard to engineer a deal. It looks like they want to release them."

The kidnappers have warned, however, that attempts by the military to launch a rescue attempt "may result in the deaths of many of the captives".

"They want a way out," said the negotiator, who has long experience of dealing directly with the Islamist group Boko Haram in previous hostage crises.