‘They’re Trying To Discourage The Govt’, DHQ Reacts To Salkida’s Claim On Chibok Girls

The Defence Headquarters has reacted to Ahmad Salkida’s claim that only 15 of the 113 missing Chibok schoolgirls are still alive.

Salkida, a journalist, known to have access to information as regards the kidnapped Chibok girls, had on Saturday said many of the girls died as a result of crossfires from security forces.

Salkida also disclosed that the 15 girls still alive are no longer under the control of Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram, saying that they have been married off.

He further challenged the federal government to prove his claims wrong or “stop negotiating for many of the girls that don’t exist”.

“Today, my painstaking investigations on the #Chibokschoolgirls revealed that just a handful of the 113 #ChibokGirls are alive.

“Many of the girls have died as a result of cross fires and bombardments of the security forces that no doubt were intent on rescuing them. I regret to state here that only 15 out of the 113 #Chibokgirls are alive today, based on my investigations in the last three months,” Salkida wrote on Twitter.

But speaking to The Cable hours later, John Agim, defence spokesman, said it is not the first time that the girls were said to have been killed or married off.

According to him, Salkida’s claims are only meant to discourage the government.

“They are only trying to discourage the government,” Agim said.

“In our operations, we have rescued hundreds of people in Boko Haram captivity, and when we profile them, most are not Chibok girls. But, look at when they first said the girls had been married off, we were able to secure the release of some of the girls.

“Every time, they are always saying the girls have been killed, we continue to secure their release just like we did recently.”

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, Boko Haram insurgents abducted 276 female students from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria.

Some of the girls had regained their freedom while about 100 of them are yet to still missing.