One of our correspondents gathered that Abubakar, who was with her six-month-old baby, had been captured alongside suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Alargano in the Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State by troops, before she was screened and discovered to be one of the abducted Chibok girls.
It was learnt that the raid was carried out by troops of the 27 Brigade and the Civilian Joint Task Force in the Alargano area.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, said Abubakar was presently undergoing medical examination after which she would be handed over to the Borno State Government.
He said, “Troops of the Operation Lafiya Dole, during investigation of the arrested suspected Boko Haram terrorists, discovered one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls with her six-month-old baby. According to preliminary investigation, it was discovered that she is the daughter of Abubakar Mulima and Habiba Abubakar of Chibok.
“The girl confirmed that she was a student of the Senior Secondary School Class 3B, before her abduction along with her colleagues on April 14, 2014, by the Boko Haram terrorists. The girl is presently undergoing further medical investigation and she would soon be released to the Borno State Government.”
The Federal Government had on Thursday, October 13, 2016, swapped some detained Boko Haram commanders for 21 Chibok girls who were released by the insurgents at Banki, a border town between Nigeria and Cameroon.
After that exchange, Abubakar would be the next rescued Chibok girl.
President Muhammadu Buhari expressed delight at the rescue of Rakiya.
In a four-paragraph statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr.
Femi Adesina, the President said the development raised his hope that the remaining girls still in captivity would be reunited with their families one day.
He promised to assist the military to locate the remaining girls and end terrorism.
The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari welcomes the recovery of another Chibok schoolgirl, Rakiya Abubakar, in the Alagarno area of Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State.
“The President notes that the recovery raises renewed hope that the other captured girls will one day be reunited with their families, friends and community.
“President Buhari also commends the military for the diligent investigation which led to the recovery of Rakiya and urges them to continue in the spirit with which they cleared the Sambisa Forest of terrorists.
“The President assures that the Nigerian Government will continue to do all within its powers to assist the military in locating the rest of the girls and eradicating the menace of terrorism in Nigeria.”
Also, the BringBackOurGirls coalition has confirmed that Rakiya is one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.
The group in a statement by its spokesman, Sesugh Akume, said it had verified that she was #49 on its list of the abducted schoolgirls.
It said, “Rakiya Gali is indeed one of our missing Chibok girls. She is the 24th to return out of 219 missing #ChibokGirls. One hundred and ninety-five (195) remain missing.
“It is three days to #Day1000 and we remain highly hopeful that the rest of our girls will be rescued and reunited with their families.”
The group commended the Nigerian military, the Multinational Joint Taskforce, the Civilian JTF, and all the security forces “working day and night to rout the terrorists, and return our #ChibokGirls and all others abducted persons.”
Meanwhile, Cameroonian troops have uncovered a location in the Ngwoshe area of Gwoza East, Borno State, where Boko Haram terrorists reportedly produced Improvised Explosive Devices.
It was learnt that the Cameroonian troops, led by a brigadier general, identified only as Buba, also recovered a Hilux vehicle, motorcycles, generators, batteries, gas cylinders and building tools used by the terrorists.
One of our correspondents gathered that the recoveries, made last Tuesday, were part of Operation Thunder, which was conducted alongside the Nigerian troops’ Operation Lafiya Dole in Gwoza East. It was learnt that the recovered materials were handed over to the Nigerian troops of the 26 Brigade.
The Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor, confirmed the recoveries, adding that the troops had dominated the area to prevent a comeback of the insurgents.
He said, “Gwoza East is towards the Cameroonian border. The Cameroonian troops have been operating in the region and their operations yielded results, leading to the recoveries.”
