Updated: We cannot change the North-East tour, FG replies BBOG
- FG invites BBOG to Sambisa Forest to have first-hand information on the efforts being made by the Nigerian Army to rescue the missing Chibok girls
- The minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, asks the BBOG to nominate three of its members to join the guided trip to the forest on Monday, 16 Jan. 2017
- The ministers of defence and information as well the chief of air staff will also be joining the invited BBOG members and a select group of journalists on the trip
The BBOG have continued to campaign for the rescue of Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents.
The federal government has said it will not shift the date to the scheduled North-East tour with the Bring Back Our Girls group.
In a letter signed by the minister of information Lai Mohammed, the Nigerian government said, having considered the conditions giving by the group including a pre-tour meeting and the retraction of some remarks made by the Chief of Army Staff Tukur Buratai, the tour cannot be shifted.
Mohammed in the letter said: "We regret to inform you that we are unable to to postpone the trip as scheduled because: 1. The need to proceed with the trip on Monday is predicated on the narrow window available to have a good weather on that day.
2. Additionally, the payment for the satellite downlink streaming of the mission has been made for that Monday, and shifting the date will require another round of booking to secure a slot."
Mohammed also said: "May we also say that apart from the BBOG members, local and international journalists have been invited for the trip, while much preparations have been made by the Nigerian military."
The federal government had invited members of the Bring Our Girls Back (BBOG) to join in the search for the missing Chibok girls in the Sambisa Forest.
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The government said the invitation to the group is to enable the campaigners have a first-hand information on the efforts being made by the Nigerian Army to rescue the missing girls.
The Nation reports that the invitation to the BBOG was contained in a January 11, 2016 letter, signed by the minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and addressed to Mrs Oby Ezekwesili the convener of the group.
In the letter, the minster asked the BBOG to nominate three of its members to join on the guided trip to the forest on Monday, January 16, 2017 in recognition of the unwavering commitment of the group to the release of the girls.
The invitation letter reads: "Let me congratulate you most sincerely for the continuing interest of your group, Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), in the fate of the Chibok girls, including those who have regained freedom and those who remain in captivity.
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“In recognition of your unwavering commitment to the freedom of the girls who remain in captivity, you are invited to nominate three of the BBOG members to join you on a guided trip to the North-East on Monday, 16 Jan. 2017.
“The trip, being planned by the military, will see the Ministers of Defence and Information as well the Chief of Air Staff joining the invited BBOG members and a select group of journalists, first to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Command Centre in Yola to witness first-hand the efforts being made to search for the girls by the NAF and then join the day and night sorties with the NAF to the Sambisa Forest.
“Please note that due to limited seats on the search planes; only two of the invited BBOG members will join the NAF sorties.”
But the BBOG was yet to officially respond to the government’s offer as at press time on Saturday, January 14.
Meanwhile, Nigerian soldiers have arrested four fleeing members of the Boko Haram sect with 100 motorcycles.
This was disclosed by Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, the director army public relations, on Thursday, January 12.
According to Bri-Gen Usman, the fleeing terrorists were arrested on Wednesday afternoon at Madaki village in Biu local government area, Borno state by troops of 27 Task Force Brigade stationed in Bara.