#BBOGCountdownTo6Weeks: Week 3 Statement; 28 February to 7 March, 2015

Review of Week Three
Sunday 8 March 2015
Introduction
Today is the International Women’s Day, a day for celebrating, and showing respect, appreciation and love to women and girls. It is a day dedicated to creating civic awareness, promoting women and girls issues, and advocating against sexism, discrimination etc.
This year’s official UN theme is, ‘Make it Happen’; #IWD2015. This theme so perfectly captures what we have been doing for 313 days today, such that we of the #BringBackOurGirls family have dedicated this year’s Women’s Day to our #ChibokGirls. It is therefore auspicious that this year’s International Women’s Day coincides with the third delivery of our weekly #BBOGCountDownTo6Weeks Report.

This Monitoring Initiative closely follows the Federal Government’s Six Weeks renewed offensive against Boko Haram terrorist group and with a particular focus on the efforts to rescue our 219 #ChibokGirls who on a day that women everywhere are celebrated unfortunately continue to languish as captives of terrorists because of failure to rescue them since they were abducted on14th April, 2014.
We wish to reiterate that our Movement endorses the current efforts of the Federal Government to end the terrorist scourge and rescue our girls. We absolutely support our soldiers at the battlefront and constantly applaud their gallantry in the successes so far recorded against the terrorists. We are resolved to continue with our monitoring and demand for accountability in ways that are consistent with our role as a citizen’s advocacy group.
B. Matters Arising from Previous Statements
1. We had expressed concern that two weeks into the 6-weeks operations, there had been no status update on efforts specific to the rescue of our 219 #ChibokGirls. As though responding to our concerns during the week under review, our President assured Nigerians that #ChibokGirls are alive. We were like the rest of the public, delighted to hear but would be doubly reassured once Mr. President’s assurance is confirmed to have been based on credible intelligence information. This is because we sadly recall that some 287 days ago– being 28th May, 2014, the Chief of Defense Staff informed the world that our Military knew where the girls were, and gave assurance to their parents that “they would be back soon.” Therefore, if a reassurance is being given nearly 10 months later merely based on the deductive inference that the terrorists have not released any videos to the contrary, it raises serious concerns about sensitivity of our Government to the feelings of the #ChibokGirls’ families. Even more shocking is that on the same day our President was offering reassurance and raising hope, the Minister of Aviation was in faraway London stating that our #ChibokGirls may never come back. Such incoherence, inconsistencies and contradictions breed the confusion and distrust of the parents and public at large.
Finally, recalling that our President Jonathan had on the 18th February stated that the counterinsurgency operations would in fact be over in 3 weeks we are extremely anxious about the efforts to rescue our #ChibokGirls. Therefore we ask again when will our 219 girls be back?
2. We have repeatedly called for independent media reportage of our Government’s counterinsurgency effort to complement the current practice in which every report available on the war is as provided the public by the Defense Spokesperson, and their Defense PR Consultant. We note that in a recent media briefing, the Defense spokesperson conveyed that the Military’s inability to provide independent media with necessary coverage at the battle front is the reason for the current arrangement. We maintain our original position that the credibility of the current offensive would be vastly enhanced should our Military adopt an approach that aligns with well-known protocol and global best practice for media coverage of both conventional and unconventional wars.
3. As much as we commend the Chief of Army Staff and Commander-in-Chief’s visit to troops in the front-lines of battle; we wish to encourage a more holistic practice for honoring our serving military personnel. We have since May 2014 persistently advocated that as part of the strategy for winning the anti-terrorism war, the welfare of our ground troops should become a paramount priority. We articulated our position in our document “Citizens’ Solution to End Terrorism” which we availed the National Security Adviser on May 2, 2014, the Chief of Defense Staff on May 6 and the President’s Delegation on May 22 , 2014. That document is also available on
http://bringbackourgirls.ng/citizens-solution-to-end-terrorism/
We canvassed for a comprehensive welfare package that includes but not limited to the following:
(A) Payment of allowances and adequate feeding of soldiers on duty
(B) Premium life insurance cover
(C) Adequate compensation for the families of those who die in the line of duty
(D) Adequate care and support for those who sustain injury in the line of duty
(E) Adequate reward for gallantry, etc.
We believe that effective allocation of the security budget would accommodate these perquisites and enormously boost the morale of our soldiers.
4. We called attention to the news report of helicopters and fighter jets that were alleged to distribute terrorist flyers in Adamawa. In the past week, a military helicopter was reportedly sighted by residents of Gombi, (the same location where flyers were said to have been previously dropped). The residents alleged that the helicopters dropped off military materiel; bombs, arms and ammunition in Gombi hills. We were surprised when the police quickly issued a statement that it was an exercise to dispose of expired bombs. Our worry is that such an approach is at variance with the proper protocols and convention for disposing of expired ordnances, and therefore raises serious questions that the authorities should address swiftly.
C. Review of Week Three Of the 6-Weeks Operation in The Media
1. There were news reports that our #ChibokGirls are being used as human shields by the terrorists. This increases the feeling of hurt and anxiety when we imagine the anguish they have been subjected to in the last 328 days. It is for this reason that we remain resolute in demanding #BringBackOurGirls Now and Alive!
2. The UK government refused making information available on their support to the Federal Government to a requesting civil society organization on the premise that doing so would hurt their diplomatic relations with Nigeria. The organization which describes itself as private investigators were seeking information on what the British Government knew about the whereabouts of #ChibokGirls.
It would be recalled that on 1st January, the parents of the 219 abducted girls had made a world wide appeal to any group that could provide private investigators or investigation on the whereabouts of their daughters. The response of the British Government to the request that may aid such private investigation effort must therefore be a huge disappointment to the distraught parents who have maintained that the humanity of their daughters be places above political considerations.
3. There were many reports of alleged distrust, antagonism and non- cooperation between the Nigerian military and the militaries of neighboring nations that constitute the Multinational Joint Taskforce, MNJTF. Both the Chadian military and the Chadian president were quoted have made some grave allegations on how Nigeria “aided the Boko Haram terrorist leader to escape during the Chadian offensive launched at his base in Dikwa”.
Such developments contradict the optimism with which our President welcomed and anticipated closer cooperation with Chad and our other neighbors within the MNJTF. Perhaps it may be necessary for all the Presidents of the MNJTF countries meet immediately with their respective commanders of the battlefront for an operational review that can help resolve any operational differences that may be adversely affecting total and effective collaboration needed to achieve the objectives of the 6 – weeks operation.
4. There were reports that Nigeria had rejected the formal offer of military support and other related security cooperation from the South African government. The said support was alleged to have come through the instrumentality of the African Union, AU. Surprisingly however, the Federal Government was reported to have hired South African mercenaries to boost the ongoing counter insurgency offensive. If these reports are accurate then it raises curiosity on the factors in consideration that led to our Federal Government choosing the private and informal channels of support over the more transparent government to government collaboration to boost our counter insurgency efforts.
D. Other Concerns
i. When will the about 1,650,000 displaced residents go back home?
ii. Have more residents returned to other towns that our Military has reclaimed? Is it possible to provide similar visuals of places like Baga returnees settling back home like the public saw of the residents of Michika?
iii. Can the Federal Government officially respond to the perception that it may have mismanaged the support that several countries like the United Kingdom and the United States offered our country at the beginning of the search to rescue our #ChibokGirls in May?
iv. Can the Federal Government and the military high -command provide a comprehensive MidTerm Report of the 6-Weeks operation that details the following:
1. Number and names of all liberated towns, villages and local governments. What communities precisely have been liberated, and the names.
2. Liberated territories that residents are able to return to as well as those that are not safe for habitation.
3. Number and names of territories that are yet to be liberated.
4. The number of terrorists killed.
5. The number of terrorists captured alive.
6. The number of our fallen troops and those injured.
7. The status of our regional collaborations.
8. Can there be more audio visuals of the progress at the war front?
vi. Can the British Government and all other supportive countries which offered support to the Government of Nigeria demonstrate a minimum standard of accountability, by providing substantial update of the results they have accomplished?
E. Conclusion
As we stated last week, we eagerly look forward to victory of our military and the MNJTF. We are extremely hopeful that the military will succeed in bringing back our #ChibokGirls. We are confident that Nigeria shall see an end of insurgent operations within and terrorist incursion into our territories. We wait in great and anxious expectation for the return of order, normalcy, peace and security to Northeast, Nigeria.
Once again, we continue to be proud of our gallant fighting men and women of the military and the MNJTF, (not forgetting the Civilian JTF), in the frontline of battle and wish them resounding success in the weeks ahead.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
Signed:
For: The #BringBackOurGirls Movement
OBY EZEKWESILI
HADIZA BALA-USMAN
MARYAM UWAIS
SAUDATU MAHDI
MIRIAM IKUNAIYE
FLORENCE OZOR
BUKKY SHONIBARE
AISHA YESUFU
MAUREEN KABRIK
FATIMA ABBAKAKA
DAUDA ILIYA
JIBRIN IBRAHIM
ROTIMI OLAWALE
OLATUNJI OLANREWAJU
HOSEA TSAMBIDO
JEFF OKOROAFOR
EMMAN SHEHU
SESUGH AKUME