The military authorities have taken the 293 women
and girls rescued by the Special Forces during a
raid on the dreaded Sambisa
Forest to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri,
Borno State.
An intelligence officer, who made this known to one
of our correspondents on Wednesday, also said the women and girls
were undergoing a series of tests, including pregnancy and HIV in
the hospital.
The officer also said that seven of the girls had
gunshot injuries which were being treated by the medical officials of the UMTH.
Findings indicated that out of the 293 ladies, 200
were aged between 13 and 18, the age brackets of the Chibok schoolgirls
abducted by Boko Haram insurgents on April 14, 2014.
When one of our correspondents contacted the
Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris. Olukolade, to confirm the
officer’s information on the rescued females, he said, “We will
talk about it when we are through; we are busy moving them off the line of duty
for a thorough screening.
“The military would do everything to take care of
them and make them feel not traumatised.”
Our source explained that the military would on
Thursday (today) commence a holistic investigation of the
identities of the girls and women after the tests and treatment.
Another officer told The PUNCH that the
DHQ was being careful with saying who the women and girls were to
avoid mistakes.
He said, “This is a sensitive matter that has to be
handled with serious caution. You cannot say before the
commencement of the investigation that they are the Chibok girls or not.
“Another thing is that you cannot start asking them
if they are from Chibok because of the harrowing experiences or trauma
they have gone through.
“Clearly, it would be too early for anybody to say
that Chibok girls are among them or not; they are under custody; they went
through trauma and we want to them to have some relief. Those with medical
requirements are being treated.
“But the military is very careful.
There is the need to ascertain their true identities.
“There would be individual interrogation of each of
those rescued, to ascertain their link with the sect.”
However, the Borno State Government said on
Wednesday that most of the ladies were from Bumsiri, a village in Damboa Local
Government Area of the state.
The state’s Commissioner for
Information, Mohammed Bulama, told journalists in
Maiduguri that, “The girls and women rescued are our
daughters just like the Chibok girls. We have to commend the military for
liberating them, hoping that the rest will equally be liberated.
“Though everyone had thought they were the Chibok
girls, but we should not lose sight that they are as important as the Chibok
girls.
“At the moment, we are looking forward
to the time the 293 women/girls would be handed over to us so that
we can begin the process of rehabilitating and reintegrating them into the
society.”
Also, the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima,
described the military operation as “gratifying regardless of whether or not
the rescued women formed part of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted
by insurgents in 2014.”
Shettima, in a statement by
his Special Adviser on Media, Isa Gusau, said, “I am so full of excitement and
gratitude to God. I commend our gallant armed forces for this great feat. For
me, the lives, safety and welfare of all citizens of Borno State are of equal
importance.
“However, this rescue is also very dear to me. I am
as pleased as much as I would be when the Chibok schoolgirls are rescued by the
special grace of God. I am very optimistic, prayerful and supportive of the
military’s ongoing rescue and counter-insurgency operations.
“We won’t give up on the Chibok schoolgirls like I
said two weeks ago. No sane parent gives up on a missing child.
“I have daughters and I know the love of a parent
to the girl child. For now, it is better to allow the military handle things,
conduct their investigations and ascertain the identities of those rescued but
irrespective of the identities of the girls, we are very happy that they have
been rescued whether they are citizens of Borno or anywhere else.
“We have abiding faith in God that He will see us
through these times and we shall overcome the temporary but traumatic moment of
grief. God will set Chibok girls and all Nigerians free from fear and the
brutality of Boko Haram insurgents and others in their league.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress has appealed
to the abductors of the Chibok girls to embrace reconciliation and release
them.
A Deputy President of the NLC, Mr. Peters
Adeyemi, said, “We use the opportunity to join in the call for the
release of the Chibok girls; we plead with those who abducted them to release
them in the spirit of national rebirth and lay down their arms to give way to a
reconciliatory dialogue for peace and stability of the nation.”
Chibok Girls: Rescued girls undergo pregnancy, HIV tests
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Thursday, April 30, 2015
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