Senator Ahmed Zana, representing Borno Central Senatorial district in the National Assembly on Tuesday said that information available to him indicated that most of the over 200 girls abducted in Chibok about three weeks ago have been moved to Chad and Cameroon.
He added that some of the girls are in Chukungidiya in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State.
The Senator spoke while contributing to a motion sponsored by Senate leader, Victor Ndoma Egba and the other 107 Senators to condemn the abduction of the school girls and the Nyanya bomb blast that claimed the lives of over 75 persons recently.
Zana, whose constituency is from the Chibok area where the girls were kidnapped also disclosed that the girls have been forcefully married by the insurgents who are currently residing in some of the 40 islands in Borno.
“I have been in constant touch with the security agencies, telling them the developments, the movement of the girls from one place to the other and then the splitting of the girls and eventually the marriage of these girls by the insurgents,” he said. “What bothers me most is that whenever I inform where these girls are, after two to three days, they will be moved from that place to another and still, I will go back and inform them that see, this is what is happening.
“But I lost hope two days ago when I found out that some of them were moved to Chad and Cameroon.
“Actually, some of them were moved through the Mandara Mountain, that is in Gwoza and some of them are just a stone throw from their barracks, even now as I am talking to you, in Cameroon because it is in Kolofata, which is in Cameroon about 15 kilometre or even less to the borders.
“One of the insurgents called somebody in Bama and said I just got married and said I am now settling in Kolofata and then three or four days ago, some Fulani men reported that they saw some girls being taken by boats into the island in Lake Chad and that some of them happened to be between Marte and Mungonu, maybe.”
While contributing to the motion, another Senator from Borno, Ali Ndume, said the military attempt to rescue the girls was hampered by lack of information when the kidnapping occurred.
Narrating how the girls were abducted, Ndume said when the insurgents arrived at Chibok, they went to the Motor Park and seized seven vehicles to add to the ones they came with.
He also said the military has not been able to eliminate Boko Haram because the troops were not well motivated and equipped for the task. “The commanders had alleged that their allowances were not being paid and that the number of soldiers are inadequate. There is no new equipment, all of them are old. The other time we went there, one of the armoured tanks broke down and we had to tow it with another vehicle, said the Senator.
Welcoming his colleagues from the three weeks break, Senate president, David Mark called on the lawmakers to emphasise on the unabating raging insurgency in Northeast Nigeria.
He said only a decisive action by the government against the insurgents can save the country.
“There is no doubt that our nation is at war. The enemy has clearly and unequivocally served the nation notice of its vile intentions. Therefore, a clear, unambiguous and decisive military response from the Government, beyond the imposition of a state of emergency, is urgently required in this circumstance. This is an option we must consider now.
“It is obvious that we are dealing with insurgents and well funded nihilists who are determined to violently trample upon the secularity of the Nigerian State and destroy the country.
“A modern, vibrant, progressive, multi-ethnic, multi-religious Nigeria is an anathema to them. Because they are fired by zealotry and extremism, they are not likely to be swayed by overtures of any kind. We must henceforth shift from fighting terrorism to fighting insurgency.
Contributing to the motion, “I had a 30 minutes chat with the traditional ruler in Chibok yesterday and the briefing he gave to me is identical with the submission of Senator Zana and the other people from Borno State.”
“The story that Ndume narrated about soldiers going in the wrong direction when they got the information is a clear indication of what we are in for. The people we are dealing with are well trained. They are not terrorists, they are insurgents. All along, we have been reactive, if we are not proactive we cannot deal with it.
“I have been in the fore front of saying we must dialogue with them but I think we must take the battle to a level where they also must beg for dialogue.
“We cannot do this unless the locals on group there corporate with the members of the armed forces,” said Mark.
Senators who contributed to the debate also identified lack of cooperation from the local communities, inferior military equipment, lack of motivation, and insufficient personnel as the major factors impeding the war against the success of the military in the war against the insurgents.
They noted that the abduction of the school girls was a clear indication of the deteriorating security situation in Borno and other parts of the country.
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