GEJ Assures Nigerians - Chibok Girls Are Alive And Would Be Found

President Goodluck Jonathan has assured Nigerians that the Chibok Secondary School girls abducted in April, last year by the deadly Islamic sect, Boko Haram are still alive and will be rescued.

The President gave the assurance yesterday while speaking in a live discussion programme, Kaakaki of African Independent Television (AIT) in Abuja.

He said that the schoolgirls had not been killed by their captors, because they have not displayed their corpses.

“We still have reasonable territories in the hands of Boko Haram. We promised that we must get the girls. The good story is that they have not killed them because the terrorists, when they kill, they display." He said

“They use it to intimidate the whole society. “The girls are alive. We will get the girls. “Luckily, we are narrowing down the area of their control. So, we will get them.” Jonathan explained that the military had been reluctant to move in with full force because of the tendency of terrorists to use captives as human shield, saying, “that is why the pace had to be slow.” The president added.

On why it took so long for the military to successfully come against Boko Haram, The President said:

“Yes, agreed that at the beginning, probably we did not really estimate the capacity of Boko Haram; it is obvious. Boko Haram started as a non-violence group led by Yusuf, limited to around Maiduguri area, Yobe. They did not even get to Adamawa. “Just like every group of youths or young people is inclined to criminality, over the period, they expanded their network and linked up with other terrorist organisations like in the North Africa, like Al-Qaeda and other similar brands in the world. So, they continued to build their capacity and it got to a point that, for you to tackle them in the kind of environment they operate, you need some specialised equipment to use and we don’t manufacture these equipment.” He said the government encountered some difficulties at the beginning, including getting the necessary weapons from other countries, adding however, that about 65 per cent of the weapons is available to prosecute the war. “That is why the movement has changed. So, it is not deliberate,” he said. On efforts to return the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their homes, Jonathan said the Nigerian troops after dislodging the insurgents, were mopping up the areas already liberated to ensure that Boko Haram did not carry out reprisal attacks, and give the people the confidence and courage to return home"

On the fuel scarcity, He said;

“For the fuel scarcity, we are doing everything humanly possible to ensure it is taken care of. It is very temporary. Of course, the issues of payment are being addressed and we believe that within one or two days, this will completely go.”