Buhari Doubts Chibok Abduction, Orders Fresh Investigation
Nigeria President, Muhammadu Buhari[/caption]
There are indications that President Muhammadu Buhari may have cast doubt on the alleged kidnap of 2019 school girls seized from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State as he has ordered fresh investigation into the matter.
The president ordered the investigation on 600 days after the girls allegedly went missing.
In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the president made the announcement at a meeting with parents of the abducted girls, representatives of the Chibok community and members of the Bring Back Our Girls movement at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
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The girls were kidnapped on the night of April 14, 2014 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Jonathan had in the wake of the abduction set up a 26-member fact-finding committee led by Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Sabo (retd.), to investigate the matter.
Shehu, however, said the Buhari panel that would investigate the incident would soon be named by the National Security Adviser, Babagana Munguno.
“The investigation will seek to, among other things, unravel the remote and immediate circumstances leading to the kidnap of the girls by Boko Haram terrorists as well as the other events, actions and inactions that followed the incident,” the statement read.
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Buhari was quoted as saying, “I assure you that I go to bed and wake up every day with the Chibok girls on my mind.
“The unfortunate incident happened before this government came into being.
“What have we done since we assumed office? We re-organised the military, removed all the service chiefs and ordered the succeeding service chiefs to deal decisively with the Boko Haram insurgency.
“In spite of the terrible economic condition we found ourselves in, we tried to get some resources to give to the military to reorganise and equip, retrain, deploy more troops and move more forcefully against Boko Haram.
“And you all know the progress we have made. When we came in Boko Haram was in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states. Boko Haram has now been reduced to areas around Lake Chad.
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“Securing the Chibok girls is my responsibility. The service chiefs and heads of our security agencies will tell you that in spite of the dire financial strain we found the country in, I continue to do my best to support their efforts in that regard.
“This is a Nigeria where we were exporting an average of two million barrels per day at over $140 per barrel. Now it is down to about $27 to $30.
“You have been reading in the press how they took public funds, our funds, your funds and shared it, instead of buying weapons. That was the kind of leadership I succeeded. That was the kind of economy I inherited.
“God knows I have done my best and I will continue to do my best.”
