Ahmad Salkida, a journalist and close ally of the Boko Haram sect has opened a can of worms on the untold stories behind the abduction of some girls from a school in Chibok area of Borno State in 2014.
Salkida, who was once declared wanted by the military over his alleged connection to Boko Haram militants, revealed that the violent group had wanted the then government under Goodluck Jonathan to swap its detained members with the abducted girls but the deal hit the rocks.
Salkida said his efforts to seal the deal were truncated at the eleventh hour by the then Chief of Defence Staff.
In a series of tweets, detailing the yet-to-be-told story of the Chibok saga, the controversial journalist disclosed that at the moment, only 15 out of the 115 girls kidnapped by the insurgents were still alive.
Sadly, he said they have been married out and no longer under the control of the sect.
He recalled thus, “Four years ago, a middle ranking Boko Haram commander led dozens of fighters in search of food and other supplies in the remote town of Chibok, like an afterthought, they saw a chance to abduct school girls in GSS Chibok, the girls at the time were preparing for their exams.
“The dozens of Boko Haram fighters faced no opposition during the abduction, as they struggled to convey their captives to the forest of Alagarno, the insurgent’s first war capital, which they named Timbuktu. It was in Timbuktu that they organised most of the horror we experience today.
“Some of the girls were lucky to have escaped on their way to Timbuktu that night, because there were fewer fighters to hold more than 200 girls. At the beginning, the group didn’t know what to do with the girls, at least, not in the first one month of their captivity.
“However, what many people did not know was that two weeks into the abduction, the Jonathan administration was already in touch with me for the peaceful release of the girls. By the way, I was in self-exile after pressure from the same Government.
“I took an excuse where I was doing a menial job in the UAE (but still reporting the insurgency), to see the president, which was facilitated by Aliyu Gebi and Labaran Maku. By the 3rd of May, I was already on my way from Abuja to Madagali, Marwa and finally to a Boko Haram camp.
“I got a proof of life for the president and another for the media in case I didn’t get back. The demands of Boko Haram then were simple, they wanted detained members taken to Damaturu and they will move the girls to Buniyardi for swap somewhere in between. There was no word on ransom
“I was provided with full military escort from Abuja to Damaturu, Govt was supposed to make sure that 70 detainees were ready on my arrival in Damaturu to meet 30 there. The rest of the negotiating team was in Abuja making sure the prisoners were on a plane before my arrival.”
Silkida, however, said he was shocked on getting to Damaturu, the Yobe State capital only to discover that the detained Boko Haram members were not on ground for the swap deal.
He wrote, “On arrival in Damaturu, the military commander there was not briefed about my work. He was merely told to expect a VIP? At that time, the girls have been moved by Boko Haram, but there was no prisoner for exchange and I got a call from the former CDS to abort the operation.
“The president later said before me that he did not call off the swap. There was a credible window, but zero will to rescue the girls. Boko Haram members were angry. I returned to the UAE to continue my hustle, but received invitations not only by the former administration, but the current government.
“Four out of five processes that I was involved in, we came close to a swap deal, but government in most instances did not provide the platform I presented with the required expertise. And whenever government dragged its feet, Shekau will shift the goal post.
“I continued my reporting on the crisis, often critical of government and Boko Haram, with both sides raising concerns. For me, I am a reporter before anything else, many officials consider me as somebody who was too independent minded for a process that needs to be shrouded in secrecy.
“Government then began to look for alternatives to conclude what I’ve started & my former couriers stepped in as the primary ‘negotiators.’ It was a break for me because it was no longer negotiation, but mere transaction. Another reason was my insistence that the process must be domesticated
“I was a prickle in the flesh of our leaders with my counter claims of official narratives. A day after I exclusively released a video of the girls, something I’ve done in the past, I was declared wanted by same military that provided me with escorts, military aircraft for assignments
“I was amazed to learn later that the terms that saw the release of some of the girls was unfavourable than what I presented, but as my friend will say, even if we come up with a cure for cancer, the war economy and elites would rather die than accept a cure from a Talaka.
On the fate of the kidnapped girls, Silkida said many of them were dead, while those alive have been married off.
According to him, “Today, my painstaking investigations on the Chibok schoolgirls revealed that just a handful of the 113 Chibok Girls 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 Chibok girls are alive today, based on my investigations in the last 3 months and we have already seen some of them in a video, which I exclusively obtained and was published on Sahara Reporters website.”
Regrettably, the reporter further disclosed that the girls were no longer under the custody of the Boko Haram factional leader, Abubakar Shekau.
He revealed thus, “What is the status of the remaining 15 girls as far as negotiations are concerned? My investigations also revealed that, they are no longer under the control of Abubakar Shekau. According to sources, they are now ‘married’ and only their ‘husbands’
“If they are divorced or the men are killed that is when Shekau’s decision takes precedence, and in this instance, since the girls have been indoctrinated, their leader has no right to negotiate for their release, no matter the ransom offered, reliable multiple sources said.
“It will be unbearable to share the names of the 15 that are alive here, this is the responsibility of Govt. When I was involved I regularly provided proof of life. Govt must demand that to prove me wrong or stop negotiating for many of the girls that don’t exists.
“The secrecy around the condition of the Chibok Girls and most recent Dapchi Girls debacle by those involved is the reason people like me are out of the picture. The fact remains that under the present circumstances there is NO room for peace settlement.”
On the way out for the girls, he opined that the military should rescue or negotiate with individual captors to release their ‘wives’ in return for some kind of deal.
“But this will mean death to these fighters because the terror group now sees the girls as part of their own and must be protected.
“How comes there is little or no information about the girls and both the parents and campaigners are in the dark? Because, government resists independent reporting of the crisis, most of the reports are choreographed and Nigerians are also not ready to hear the truth or stand by it.”
Meanwhile, a mail sent to Femi Adesina, media aide to President Buhari drawing his attention to Silkida’s claims and possible reaction was not replied at the time of filling this report.
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