Two of the three Nigerians declared wanted by the Nigerian Army for their “connections” to Boko Haram have responded on Facebook, one of them saying he has already arrived in Maiduguri to meet the army, and has been well received.
In a press statement on Sunday, the Army said journalist Ahmed Salkida, Ahmed U. Bolori and Aisha Wakil were wanted because they possessed information relating to the conditions and exact location of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Borno State in 2014.
Saying its action was based on relevant Nigerian law, it said the declaration became necessary as a result of the link of the three with the last two videos released by the terrorist group, as well as the army’s “preliminary investigations.”
"They must, therefore, come forward and tell us where the group is keeping the Chibok Girls and other abducted persons to enable us to rescue them," it said in the statement, which was signed by Colonel Sani K. Usman, the Acting Director of Army Public Relations.
In a series of postings on Facebook on Monday, August 15, 2016 Bolori said that following his efforts to reach and report to the Nigerian Army, they asked him to go home and return to them tomorrow morning.
“I've been here at the Army command Hqtrs, Maiduguri, waiting to be invited in as scheduled,” he wrote. “But yet, no response despite the text messages and calls I made to the Army. I am a good citizen and so, I keep to my words. I said I will be here, and I am here!”
“The Army is now treating me friendly and peacefully, as a nice colonel just took me to his office to drink tea,” he further stated, repeatedly adding, “May God help us!”
In a statement issued today, Aisha Alkali Wakil confirmed that she does know the Boko Haram boys, and expressed surprised that the army now believes she does by declaring the three of them wanted.
“I know the Boko Haram boys,” she wrote. “I have been in front fighting for peace long before Chibok girls were kidnapped. Nigerian security knows me too well, I’m not shady. Why declaring me wanted?”
She added that she has in the past had meetings with the Chief of Army Staff & his officials.
“I told them the way forward, to allow me come with some commanders of Boko Haram and discuss with them, present the release of [Chibok Girls] but they chose to do things their own ways only and never gave considerations to any of my suggestions.”
She appealed to Nigerians that she is innocent, affirming that she is “in constant [contact]” with Nigeria’s security personnel.
According to her, “…They know where to find me but wonder why I had to be declared wanted on national news even mentioning my husband’s name alongside.”
She said this action has put her immediate and extended family under a lot of pressure that she does not deserve from the Nigerian government. “Though they may not appreciate all my efforts to proffer peaceful solutions to the menace of [Boko Haram], my name should not be mudslinged nor my character defamed.”
Earlier in the day, Salkida said in a press statement issued in Dubai, where he lives, that he will travel to Nigeria without delay to clear his name against what he dismissed as “baseless and unjustifiable” allegations.
To that end, he urged the army to send an official invitation and return flight tickets to him to expedite his trip, otherwise he will make the trip as soon as he can purchase a ticket.
The army’s action on Sunday followed the new video from Boko Haram in which the Abubakar Shekau faction stated that Nigeria’s military air strikes had killed several of the Chibok girls while the group had married off more than 40 of them.
Speaking on the video, a Shekau lieutenant proposed an exchange of the remaining girls for his “brothers” being held by the federal government.
“If you don't set our brothers free, you should know from this moment that you will never get these girls back by the power of almighty Allah,” he said. “This is the summary of our message to the Federal Government and the parents of Chibok girls.”
The video also shows a recorded conversation between the soldier and Maida Yakubu, one of the Chibok girls, in which she urges the government to free the Boko Haram commanders as the only condition for them to regain their own freedom.
The Boko Haram soldier also dismisses insinuations that the group is in negotiation with the government, asserting that on the matter of the girls it is dealing with nobody except for some journalists.
“You should know this: we did not send anyone except the journalists we are interacting with,” he said. “This is what we know.”
It is widely believed that this claim, along with the embarrassment that Boko Haram appears to remain intact, that led the army to declared the three persons wanted at the weekend.
