We’re moving closer to finding Chibok girls, says FG

The Coordinator, National Information Centre, Mike Omeri, has said that the Federal Government is closer to finding the abducted Chibok girls.

He stated that security forces were working on leads that would soon result in the rescue of the schoolgirls from Boko Haram captivity.

Omeri, who said this at his regular news briefing in Abuja on Monday, explained that the arrest of the chief intelligence operative officer of the Boko Haram by troops had assisted the security forces to get closer to finding the girls.

According to him, the Presidency is working hard to end insecurity, and to prevent the security crisis from spreading to other parts of the country.

He, therefore, appealed to landlords to identify the origin of their tenants and their means of livelihood to avoid housing insurgents or criminals in their houses.

Omeri said, “We are moving closer to finding the abducted girls and we have identified a number of leads. The arrest of the Boko Haram intelligence operative is assisting us in this regard. I can’t speak much on this because the information is classified.”

On the reported escape of 63 abducted women from Boko Haram hideouts in Sambisa Forest, the coordinator said he could not confirm the development. He added that he had reached out to officials in Borno State, whom he said had yet to get across to him with the right information.

Omeri, who commented on allegation by the Chibok community that they were not being carried along by the government in the efforts to rescue the abducted girls, explained that the NIC had been giving out information in the media on the progress of the rescue efforts.

“This centre has been giving out information in the media and everything is in the open. So, I don’t know what they meant by saying we are keeping them in the dark; if they want security report, I don’t know about that. But we can’t give out classified information,” he stressed.