Jonathan Vindicated As U.K Govt Reveals Truth Behind Chibok Girls Rescue

[caption id="attachment_17428" align="alignnone" width="750"]Goodluck Jonathan, ex-Nigerian President [/caption]

The British High Commission in Abuja has dismissed reports that former President Goodluck Jonathan rejected the offer by the British Royal Armed Force (RAF) to help rescue the abducted Chibok girls in 2014.

Recall that over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok community in Borno State were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents as they were preparing to write a West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in 2014.

Reports emerged last week that the Jonathan administration turned down the offer from RAF to rescue the girls after they were located few weeks after their abduction.

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However, speaking with ARISE News Network on Tuesday, the British High Commission debunked the report, saying it ‘was false’.

“A more cordial, collaborative and unified approach between Nigeria and her allies than the reported differences was used,” the British High Commission said.

“UK worked with the US and France to provide a range of military and intelligence support to the Nigerian government in their search (for the Chibok girls), and in fact, a wider effort to address the longer term challenge of terrorism.

“But importantly, we won’t comment on specific additional details, which are a matter for the Nigerian government and the military.”

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This comes just one day after the UK’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Security Council and head of the delegation to the Lake Chad region, Ambassador Mathew Rycroft, dismissed the allegation when the question was put forward to him during a press briefing.

“The British High Commissioner briefed me on that today (Monday) and said that the allegations are not true,” Rycroft said.

Rycroft described the Boko Haram crisis as “one of the most neglected crisis and we want to shine a spotlight on that crisis”.

The envoy also urged the global community including the governments of the Lake Chad region to step up and respond to the crisis before it is too late.

“Part of that crisis is terrorism and we stand with the government and people of this region and particularly the government of Nigeria in confronting Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin region.

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“The UN Security Council applauds the works of the MNJTF.

“Talking about the UN sending a peacekeeping force: that has not been requested by the government of Nigeria, I am aware. That we can do as a bilateral agreement with the government of Nigeria,” he added.

Jonathan had earlier in the week dismissed the allegation as false.

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