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…Demands unconditional release of Chibok girls
By Moshood Adebayo
The United States Government has described the continued abduction of more than 200 Chibok girls as heartbreaking, pledging America’s readiness to assist in their release.
US Department of State Deputy Spokesman, Mark Toner, gave the assurance during a press briefing in Washington.
Toner said: “You’re talking about the Chibok girls from Nigeria. Well, it’s the second anniversary, I think. And of course, we call for all hostages, including these young women and girls, who’ve been held by Boko Haram, to be released immediately without preconditions.
He added: “We support Nigerian efforts to bring about the safe recovery of those kidnapped, and we continue to advise them on their response to this as well as on general counter-terrorism efforts.”
Toner said US had a team in Abuja which consists of “specialists on temporary assignment from a variety of US government agencies, who are trying to work on assisting the Nigerian government on this particular case.”
While lamenting that the terrorist group was “exerting a terrible influence and, is really, a scourge on the Nigerian population”, he disclosed that American has given upwards of $198m to assist Boko Haram victims.
“And that assistance takes a number of forms. One is intelligence; training, advice on strategic communications, but also victim support services and assistance to those who have suffered under Boko Haram.
“I think we’ve given upwards of $198m in humanitarian assistance to the populations in Nigeria that have been affected by Boko Haram’s continued attacks.
“So, we’re looking at ways that we can ramp up our support for Nigeria’s security services and any assistance that we can provide to help victims of these attacks, whether they’re from the terrorist attacks or kidnap victims,” Toner stated.
