Military Sources Attribute Upsurge In Boko Haram Offensive To ‘chibok Ransom’

SAN FRANCISCO, November 11, (THEWILL) – The recent upsurge in the killings and disappearances of soldiers engaged in the fight against  Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast has been linked to the ransom paid to the terrorists for the release of some Chibok schoolgirls abducted over two years ago.

Senior military sources, who are engaged in the anti-terrorism war,  told  Saturday Punch that money was actually paid to Boko Haram to secure the release of the abducted girls, despite denials by the Federal Government.

According to the report, the insurgents demanded $50m for the release of the girls but the Federal Government paid about a quarter of the sum  in two currencies – the naira and the CFA Francs to the leaders of the sect to facilitate the release of the girls.

But, the highly-ranked military men, whose names were not mentioned, attributed the recent upsurge in the activities of the insurgents to the huge ransom paid for the release of the girls.

In October, 21 of the over 200 girls abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014 were released by the insurgent group.

However, the Federal Government denied exchanging insurgents for the abducted girls and paying a ransom to the sect.

But the military sources insisted that Boko Haram did not release the girls without getting anything in return and that the Federal Government indeed paid a ransom and released some of the group's strategists that were detainees.

Prior to the current increase in Boko Haram attacks, it was learnt that the troops of Operation Lafiya Dole deployed in the North-East, had effectively cut off food and logistics supply to the insurgents.

Some of the sources, who are also commanders at the war front, said that the troops had effectively defeated the terrorists, who were on the run while a good number of them had surrendered and taken to a rehabilitation camp established by the Defence Headquarters in Yola.

Recall that 83 soldiers were last month reported missing days after they came under a Boko Haram attack. Though there have been increasing reports of soldiers either missing or killed since the Chibok girls were released, the military initially denied the report, it later said that only 39 soldiers were missing.

Also, on November 4, seven military men, including Lt.-Col. Muhammad Abu-Ali, were killed on their way to reinforce troops at Mallam Fatori during  a Boko Haram attack. Two days later , one soldier was also killed while four others were wounded in the line of duty.

One of the sources expressed sadness that the same government that was initially seen as tough enough to end insurgency in the country failed to negotiate with Boko Haram from a position of strength.

“It is unfortunate that in government's desperation to secure the release of the Chibok girls, it has put our (soldiers') lives in danger by yielding to the demands of the group to collect a ransom and secure the release of its commanders.

“It is now obvious that the group has reinforced and bought more weapons to fight us.”

Another source was reported as saying that left to the military, the ransom and the exchange of Boko Haram members for Chibok girls would not have taken place.

“Funds were given to Boko Haram and now we can all see the result of that action; there have been renewed attacks recently and many of our men have been killed in the process but we will not relent, we will continue to do our best to secure this nation.

“The military had reservations about the arrangement but it was not in our hands; it was a political decision that we had to abide with and it was the DSS that was directly in charge of the operation,” the source added.

Another source, who is also active in the war theatre, said, “They got the Chibok girls and suddenly the Boko Haram that we had beaten and chased out of Sambisa are attacking and killing men of quality.

“It is very obvious that they have used the money they got from the deal to buy equipment and recruit men to carry out their heinous acts.

“The group is still in Mallam Fatori, they have infested the entire area and their strongest point into Chad is Abadam. It is from there that they disperse their men to carry out attacks.

“Another thing you must note is that the towns around the borders are occupied by mercenaries from foreign countries. Where did they get the money to fund that?”