The only Nigerian journalist with access to Boko Haram flown home to negotiate with group

A professional Nigerian journalist, Ahmad Salkida, who previously worked for Daily Trust and Premium Times and reported extensively on Boko Haram, fled Nigeria to Dubai 2 years ago after being accused of being a Boko Haram sympathizer. He said he fled after 'his life and that of his family became endangered' after security agencies began to mistake his in-depth reporting on the terrorist group as evidence of his closeness to them. He went underground for several weeks before finally fleeing Nigeria.

Salkida was perhaps the only Nigerian journalist/civilian to have access to Boko Haram, and he said at the time that he'd turned down Boko Haram's many requests for him to publish exclusive interviews and materials for them.

Anyway according to new reports, the Nigerian government flew him back home a few weeks ago to negotiate with Boko Haram on their behalf, since he's the only civilian who has allegedly seen Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and come out alive. He reportedly came back home after the Nigerian government assured him that he will not be arrested.

From UK Daily Mail

One hundred non-combatant, low-level sympathisers were to be freed and the two groups brought together in a convoy of buses accompanied by a hand-picked go-between, respected Nigerian journalist Ahmad Salkida.

The plan had been agreed in tortuous negotiations in response to worldwide outrage over a night-time raid on a school in the town of Chibok on April 14 when the girls were abducted from their dormitories.

Mr Salkida was born in Borno State, where Boko Haram originated. He has known its leaders all his life and has unprecedented access.

He has been arrested on several occasions accused of being a Boko Haram sympathiser, and he fled with his family to Dubai two years ago.

But two weeks ago, he was summoned out of exile by President Jonathan’s aides. He initially feared he might face arrest, but was then given a letter of indemnity signed by the President when he flew to Nigeria.

Sources said Mr Salkida was able to travel by taxi to the group’s forest camp to talk to Shekau two weeks ago. ‘His mission was secretive and dangerous,’ they said.

He is probably the only civilian with access to Shekau. There is trust between them and Salkida had only one aim – to get the schoolgirls out.

He reported afterwards that the group of girls he saw were alive and well, and being adequately fed and sheltered. They told him all they wanted was to go home.

Salkida’s mission was complicated by the chaos surrounding government’s pronouncements about negotiations with the terrorist group.

Shekau has released two shocking videos showing the girls dressed in hijabs and reciting verses from the Koran.

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#BringBackOurGirls – Father of 2 Abducted Girls Dies of High BP

Mutai Hona, a father of two girls who were abducted by Islamist militant sect Boko Haram in the Chibok area of Borno state, has died of high blood pressure as a result of the disappearance of his daughters.

Hona, a father of 8 children and two wives, was 56.

In an interview, a man who identified as his brother James Yama told reporters that Hona who was “hale and hearty”, died on Sunday due to psychological trauma when he realized none of his daughters were in the video released by Shekau Abubakar.

“We are suffering in silence, one of my brother Mr. Mutai Hona whose two daughters were among those abducted died last Sunday as a result of heart attack, since the incident, he has not been eating well, before he developed High Blood Pressure.

If we had seen the corpses of our girls, we would have forgotten about them. They have turned the whole episode into hide and seek game with the authorities not letting us know really what is happening, it is unfortunate.” he said to Vanguard.

Mutai Hona was buried on Monday according to religious rites

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Abducted Girls Seen By Nigerian Military For The 1st Time, 200 Miles From Where They Were Abducted

The schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria by Islamic militants have been sighted for the first time, it was reported locally on Thursday.

More than 200 girls were snatched from their school five weeks ago by Boko Haram, a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda.

The girls have been tracked to three camps in the north of Nigeria, near Lake Chad, 200 miles from where they were abducted, senior officials told a Nigerian newspaper.

However, they added that it may still take a week to free the girls.

‘It has been a most difficult but heroic breakthrough,’ a senior military official told Nigeria’s Premium Times newspaper.

Another added: 'Our team first sighted the girls on April 26 and we have been following their movement with the terrorists ever since.'

The development comes after 150 people were killed in bomb and gun attacks by the militants across the country this week.

On Tuesday night a double car bombing in a market in the central city of Jos killed at least 130 civilians, while two days later another 48 died when militants stormed and burned settlements near Chibok.

#We really hope this sighting of these kidnapped Chibok girls is for real!!!

Culled from Daily Mail

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Plateau State Governor Slams #BringBackOurGirls Protesters - 'Why Not Go to the Forest where the Girls are?!'

Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, on Friday criticized the hundreds of people who took part in the #BringBackOurGirls protest in Abuja on Thursday, led by Oby Ezekwesili and Dino Melaye. The protesters had been protesting daily to demand the government do more to rescue the over 250 girls kidnapped from Chibok.

Mr. Jang, according to Premium Times, said the protesters, who planned to march to the Presidential Villa but were stopped, do not mean well for Nigeria. The Plateau governor said.

“How can a group of people just wake up and begin to protest to the Villa; demanding Mr. President to go to the forest and bring back those girls? Why don’t they go to the forest where the girls are,” Mr. Jang stated this on Friday in his first visit to the blast scene since the Tuesday bomb explosion in Jos that killed over 120 people.

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PHOTOS: A #BringBackOurGirls protest led by Oby Ezekwesili in Presidential Villa Today gets Aborted

A #BringBackOurGirls protest in Abuja today, led by Nigeria's Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwezili, Dino Melaye & Chibok elders, to the Presidential Villa had to be aborted after protesters were denied access to the Presidential Villa and rather than meet them in person, the President sent a delegation of  his ministers & aides.

Earlier on, the protesters had planned to take their protest to the Presidential Villa where they were expecting President Goodluck Jonathan to address them on efforts being made to rescue the girls. Unfortunately,they were stopped by a contingent of policemen who formed a barricade, preventing them from proceeding to the villa. See photos after the cut.

However, no arrests were made during the emotional display of concern overthe fate of the nearly 300 missing students kidnapped in mid-April at Government Girls High School in Chibok, Borno State.

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British Plane Sent To Search For Abducted Chibok Girls Breaks Down

A British surveillance jet which was on its way to Nigeria to help search for the abducted Chibok girls reportedly broke down in Senegal due to unspecified technical problems. UK Ministry of Defense released a statement explaining this…

“A technical fault which has delayed the Sentinel aircraft on its way to Ghana is being investigated and will be solved as soon as possible. In the meantime the UK military team continues its work on the ground while other surveillance aircraft continue the search for the missing schoolgirls,”.

British Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced that Britain would offer Nigeria a surveillance jet to help in the search of the missing girls.

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Norway Supports #BringBackOurGirls Cause with N259Million

The Norweigan government is allocating$1.6 million (over N259 million) to the #BringBackOurGirls cause.

Specifically, the funds will go towards promoting safe schooling in the Northern part of Nigeria and helping communities affected by the abductions, Skandik Afrik, reports.

Børge Brende, Norweigan Minister of Foreign Affairs, has expressed that Norway will also consider providing humanitarian assistance for the refugees and internally displaced people in the area

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PHOTOS: Nigeria’s #BringBackOurGirls Marks One Month Anniversary Of Schoolgirls Kidnapping with Vigil

A night vigil  for the over 200 missing Chibok schoolgirls held in Abuja last Wednesday to mark their 30th day in captivity by Boko Haram. More than 250 people, many of whom have been attending daily rallies for two weeks, came out for the vigil in Abuja. The event held inside the  Thisday Dome. Parents from Chibok were also in attendance and together they all poured out their to God in prayer, and thanked the crowd for the concern. More pics after the cut

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Missing Girls: Up To 80 Students Identified In New Boko Haram Video

According to new reports, up to 80 students have been identified in the new video released by Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau on Monday. Immediately after the release, Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima ordered a mass production of the video to be made available to parents for easy identification of their daughters.

Some parents were still conveyed to the Government house alongside few students, teachers and security men of the Government girls secondary school, where an open identification took place.

Shettima vowed to rescue the school girls alive and return them back to their parents.

See photos of some parents, relatives, Vigilantes and few girls who escaped during the school raid at the Borno Government House during the identification exercise after the cut.

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Cristiano Ronaldo's Gf, Irina Shayk Slammed for Topless #BringBackOurGirls Picture

Russian model Irina Shayk has been slammed for being "tasteless" on social media, after she posted this topless photo of herself in support of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.

Referring to the 276 schoolgirls recently kidnapped by Boko Haram, the 28-year-old covered up her bits with a handmade sign in support of the cause. Thankfully, her Insta-followers immediately branded her as being "disrespectful".

One said:
"Pretty tasteless and disrespectful. No class. This is exactly the justification terrorists are probably using to prevent women from receiving 'western education.'

With another asking her:'Would you stand there naked wishing sorrow on the 9/11 victims? Would you do it for the tsunami? This is a tasteless attitude to 200 missing girls."

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Isreal To Send Anti-Terrorism Experts To NIgeria - Press Release

Find the State house press release below;

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said Sunday in Abuja that he was very optimistic that with the entire international community deploying its considerable military and intelligence-gathering skills and assets in support of Nigeria’s efforts to find and rescue the abducted Chibok girls, success will soon be achieved.

Speaking in a telephone conversation with the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu who called this afternoon to convey his country’s sympathy and solidarity with Nigeria, President Jonathan welcomed the offer by Mr. Netanyahu to send a team of Israeli counter-terrorism experts to assist in the ongoing search and rescue operations.

The President briefed Mr. Netanyahu on actions already being taken by Nigeria’s armed forces and security agencies to locate and rescue the girls, saying that Nigeria would be pleased to have Israel's globally-acknowledged anti-terrorism expertise deployed to support its ongoing operations.

Mr. Netanyahu who expressed Israel’s total condemnation of the mass abductions, said that the team of experts from his country who will soon arrive in Nigeria, will work in collaboration with teams from the United States and Britain who are already in the country and their Nigerian counterparts to intensify the search for the girls.

He reaffirmed Israel’s willingness to give the government and people of Nigeria all possible support and assistance to overcome terrorism and insecurity.

Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
May 11, 2014

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"I assure you Lagos is safe from Boko Haram attacks" - Gov. Fashola

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola has assured residents of Lagos that the State is safe from Boko Haram attacks.

Addressing protesters who gathered at Ikoyi yesterday, Saturday May 10, 2014 in support of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, Fashola disclosed that the State Government is doing all its best to maintain the safety of lives and property in the State.

‘We are doing our very best to maintain the safety of lives and property in Lagos state which is my number one job, security meetings were held on Wednesday, May 14, 2014. I assure you Lagos is safe, but we need to be more vigilant, if you see anything, say something and pass the information around’, Fashola told the public.

The number one citizen of Lagos also commiserated with the affected families of the Chibok abduction crisis.

"I feel your pain and the pain of the parents whose daughters are involved in the abduction, at the moment I have no information to share with you as none has been made available to the state house, We all need to be informative in other to carry out work effectively", he added.

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