Chibok girls parents identify arrested female suicide bombers
(Nigeria) Murtala Muhammed Foundation, MMF, has said that some female
suicide bombers had been identified as part of the 219 missing Chibok girls, kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.
Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, CEO of MMF in a statement, on Wednesday, said “On March
30, three authorised representatives of the parents of the 219 missing Chibok
girls arrived the MMF, offices from Chibok Local
Government Area of Borno State to view photos of the girl claiming to be one of
the 219 missing students kidnapped by Boko Haram.
“Mr. Yakubu Nkeki, chairman , Mr Lawan Zana secretary, Mrs. Yana Galang women
leader, of the Chibok Girls Movement ,
all of whose children are among the kidnapped 219 Chibok girls were upon
their arrival shown photos of the girl who was arrested along with another
woman on March 25, carrying explosives in Limani, Cameroon.
"A set of photographs had been sent to the MMF on the
evening of March 28, by Garba Shehu,
Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity. A more recent batch of photos, taken at 2p.m.,
on March 29, was sent to the MMF by
Ambassador Hadiza Mustafa, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Cameroon.
“The earlier set of photos showed the girl partially clothed
and squatting on the sandy floor within a low cement wall enclosure, which was
surrounded by soldiers and some civilians.
In that same batch, the woman was being carried in the arms of a soldier, with her face swollen
and plaster covering different parts of her body. She was also partially
clothed.
“In the more recent photos, however, the girl was fully
clothed, standing against a wall and looking into the camera. The woman was also standing straight beside
what appeared to be a hospital bed, she
was fully-clothed. Her face still appeared slightly swollen with dressing on
her forehead.
“The Nigerian government by Tuesday afternoon had already
informed the MMF that the girl has clearly
identified herself as Maryam Alhaji Wakeel, 12 years old, originally
from Maiduguri but abducted from Bama when the town was overrun by Boko Haram a
year ago. The woman has identified
herself as Aishatu Usman, a 35-year-old mother of two children.
“However, the identification process was still carried out
to lay to rest any claims that the girl is one of the 219 girls kidnapped from
their school in Chibok on April 14, 2014.
Mr. Nkeki, Mallam Zana and Mrs.Galang have confirmed that the girl and
the woman do not fit the
description of any of the missing daughters from Chibok.
“ We have also made arrangements for other stakeholders to
view the photos at the MMF office in Abuja as we are yet to
ascertain how the girl came to describe herself as one of the missing Chibok
girls.
“The identity of the girl notwithstanding, the MMF has
informed the Nigerian government of its willingness to continue to pursue the
matter, and is willing to provide the
captured girl and woman any support they may require.
“These girls and women are merely victims, and must be
treated as such by the society. They have already undergone grave violence at
the hands of their Boko Haram captors.
We must ensure that they are not made to undergo additional violence at
the hands of their compatriots.
“Nigerian government officials have informed the MMF that
both Maryam Alhaji Wakeel and Aishatu Usman
have been handed over to the Nigerian military this evening and are
currently on their way back to Nigeria.”
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