The federal government has said it will take years to find the remaining kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.
On April 14, 2014, 276 girls were abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno state.
While 57 of the girls managed to escape, three were found, and 21 released after the sect struck a deal with the government. A total of 195 are still missing.
Speaking with the Hausa service of VOA, the minister of defence, Mansur Dan Ali said the government would continue its search of the girls in the vast Sambisa forest.
“It took the U.S up to seven, eight, up to 10 years before they could get to Bin Laden. We are continuing our campaigning in the Sambisa forest in all its nooks and corners,” he said.
Osama Bin Laden was the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terrorists’ attacks in the United States.
Meanwhile, the missing girls’ parents have vowed they will continue to march on the Presidential Villa, Abuja, every day until they are granted audience by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The parents, who were again refused access to the State House on Tuesday, claimed they had become the president’s enemies after voting him into power.
The kidnapped girls’ parents led by Rev. Enoch Mark, whose two daughters are among the missing ones, complained about the Presidency’s approach to the issue.
He said, “We are very sorry for giving Mr. President our votes. We voted Mr. President hoping he would rescue our daughters but we have become his enemies.
“Why can’t the president communicate with us, are we not Nigerians? Is that good for a president; a leader, to show such attitude. We believe the president is against the Chibok Community.”
Mark questioned the capability of the government to rescue the girls, claiming that it was not involved in the rescue of the girls that were found.
“If our military are not capable of rescuing our children, that means any country can come in, fight and defeat Nigeria. It is sad that our president overlooked the military intelligence and told us he doesn’t know the whereabouts of our girls, it is very shameful,” he said.
President of the Chibok Community in Abuja, Hosea Tsambido, said the parents would continue their protest.
The parents had protested to the State House on Friday and insisted on meeting with the President or his wife, Aisha, but they were persuaded to come back on Tuesday to see her.
Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram insurgents have attacked a military checkpoint in Sabon Garin Kimba village in Borno State, killing five soldiers.
It was learnt that the terrorists, who came out in their scores and believed to belong to the Abu Al-Barnawi faction, stormed the checkpoint, which is about 140 kilometres to Maiduguri, the state capital, in the late hours on Monday, killing the soldiers and injuring five others.
According to the Agence France-Presse, local residents in Sabon Garin Kimba and a military officer confirmed the deaths, noting that the jihadists’ raid on the military post was unexpected.
“Our men were outgunned and outnumbered,” the source, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak about the incident, told AFP.
“We lost five men in the fight. Five more were injured,” he added.
A civilian, Mustapha Karimbe, who assisted the military, said the terrorists took away military vehicles and burned three armoured cars along the makeshift sheds at the checkpoint.
“The terrorists attacked the soldiers and remained in the village for about three hours before they withdrew,” he said.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.Gen. Sani Usman, could not be reached for comment as at press time.
