Barely 48 hours after his arrest, one of the suspected masterminds of the Chibok girls’ abduction, businessman Babuji Ya’ari, has opened up to the military on the situation in Sambisa Forest.
Ya’ari and the two women, who are suspected to be Boko Haram suspects have been taken into custody in a military facility in Maiduguri – the troubled Borno State capital.
The three suspects were arrested in Maiduguri, Gombe and Numan, Adamawa State.
The military is on the trail of more women in the Northeast following the launch of a probe into alleged recruitment of women suicide bombers by the insurgents.
The investigation was as a result of a botched female suicide mission to 31 Regiment Army Barracks on June 9.
According to a top military source, who spoke on the ongoing interrogation of the arrested masterminds of Chibok girls, the suspects have given “useful insights into the workings of the insurgents in Sambisa Forest”.
The source said: “The three suspects have been moved to a military facility in Maiduguri for interrogation by relevant experts and security agents. They were arrested in different locations though they belong to the same network.
“They have provided some useful clues on Sambisa Forest which have assisted in having knowledge on the inner workings of the insurgents.
“One of the revelations showed that the insurgents have changed tactics; they now engage more women in their operations, including intelligence gathering.
Also yesterday, the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on his government to send troops to Nigeria to help secure the release of the girls, who were abducted on April 15.
Speaking during a debate at the House of Commons, the former Prime Minister said in view of the possibility that the more than 200 kidnapped girls might have been divided into groups and hidden in separate places, his government should send the UK forces to assist Nigeria’s army.
Brown said: “These wholly innocent young girls—Lugwa Abuga, Rhoda John, Comfort Amos, Maryamu Yakubu and 200 others—are now incarcerated in the forest areas of Borno State. Some have perhaps been dispersed across three other countries: Niger, Cameroon and Chad. Their physical and mental health is a worry for everyone.
Jim Shannon, a member of the House, told Brown that the legislators were concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria and the continued incarceration of the schoolgirls. He, however, expressed doubts over Nigeria’s reaction to the insurgency.
