Calls for ‘proof of life’ after Chibok girls death claims
KANO: Nigeria is facing calls to establish how many of the missing Chibok schoolgirls are still alive, after claims that nearly 100 of them may have lost their lives in captivity. Parents of the missing girls and supporters gathered in the small town in remote northeast Nigeria on Saturday to mark the fourth anniversary of the kidnapping that sparked world outrage. But soon after the end of their vigil and prayers, a Nigerian journalist who has been involved in negotiations with the Islamist group said only a “handful” of the girls survive.
Ahmad Salkida wrote in a lengthy thread on Twitter that “only 15” of the 112 girls still being held were 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,” he added. The Nigerian government in response neither confirmed nor denied the claim. President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, said only that Salkida’s claim was “not known” to them or anyone working on their behalf. “The facts as known to our officials and the international contacts assisting this process are that the remaining Chibok girls are there,” he added. “We are not relenting on getting their release.”
Grief and alarm
A total of 276 girls were seized from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok on April 14, 2014 and 57 managed to escape in the immediate aftermath. Since then, 107 have either been found or released as part of a government deal with the jihadists. Claims that some have died or been killed are not new. In August 2016, Boko Haram released a video purporting to show about 50 of the students. “Some of them have died as a result of aerial bombardment,” a masked gunman tells the camera. One of the girls then gives details about an air strike by Nigerian armed forces. Ayuba Alamson Chibok, a community leader in the town whose cousin is among the missing, said parents and relatives were all aware of those claims. “After the 82 girls were released (in May 2017) I spoke with some of them and they confirmed that some girls were killed in military strike on the camp they were being held,” he said. — AFP