Abducted Female Students: Nigeria Sets Up Presidential Committee

SAN FRANCISCO, May 02, (THEWILL) â€' As part of efforts to ensure the successful rescue of the abducted female students of Government Secondary School CHIBOK, President Goodluck Jonathan, has approved the constitution of a Presidential Committee on the rescue efforts for the missing female students, a government statement said Friday.

The federal government has been accused of not doing enough to rescue the girls who were forcefully taken from their dormitory in the night about two weeks ago by members of the Boko Haram, a terrorist organization operating in northern Nigeria believed to have links to AL Qaeda.

Part of the statement reads: 'The Committee whose work shall be largely fact findings is charged with the following terms of reference:

To liaise with the Borno State Government and establish the circumstances leading to the School remaining open for boarding students when other schools were closed;

To liaise with relevant authorities and the parents of the missing girls to establish the actual number and identities of the girls abducted;

To interface with the Security Services and Borno State Government to ascertain how many of the missing girls have returned;

To mobilise the surrounding communities and the general public on citizen support for a rescue strategy and operation;

To articulate a framework for a multi-stakeholder action for the rescue of the missing girls;

To advise Government on any matter incidental to the terms of reference.

The Committee is composed as follows:
(i Brig. General Ibrahim A. Sabo (Rtd.) â€' Chairman

(ii) Barrister Femi Falana, SAN â€' Member
(iii) Hajia Hawa Ibrahim â€' Member
(iv) Hajia Fatima Kwaku â€' Member
(v) 2 representatives of National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) â€' Member

(vi) 2 representatives of the Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) â€' Member

(vii) 2 representatives of the National Parents Teachers Association

(viii) 2 representatives of the Nigeria Police
(ix) 2 representatives of the State Security Service ' â€' Member

(x) 2 representatives of the Nigerian Army ' â€' Member

(xi) 2 representatives of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) ' â€' Member

(xii) 1 Representative of the Federal Ministry of Information (who shall be the Committees' Spokesperson) â€' Member

(xiii) 1 Representative of the Federal Ministry of Justice â€' Member

(xiv) 3 Representatives of Borno State Government (two of whom, preferably, shall be women) â€' Member

(xv) 1 Representative of the United Nations â€' Member

(xvi) 1 Representative of ECOWAS (who shall be a woman) â€' Member

(xvii) Permanent Secretary (Special Services Office) OSGF â€' Secretary

The Committee will be inaugurated at the State House, Abuja on Tuesday, 6th May, 2014 by 12 noon.