From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
FEDERAL Government cannot put a timeline to when the 219 Chibok schoolgirls would return and be reunited with their families, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has said.
While calling for patience and caution on the part of Nigerians, he assured that everything that needs to be done to rescue the girls were being done with the help from international community.
Speaking in Abuja at a one-day roundtable on vulnerable people in Nigeria and in other conflicts in the country in honour of the Chibok girls and other victims of internal conflicts in the country, Osinbajo cautioned that on no account should it be assumed that government was not doing enough to bring back the girls to their families.
The roundtable was jointly organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser and Presidency, strategic objective of the roundtable was to provide an avenue for engagement with citizens, relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) on issues relating to vulnerable people in insurgency and other conflict situations in Nigeria.
Osinbajo revealed that at every security council meeting that he has attended, President Muhammadu Buhari, who incidentally is a father of girls mostly, had always sought to know the fastest way to rescue the girls but because the issue was very complicated, government could not say exactly when it would be achieved.
He said the safety and security of the girls is paramount in the efforts to rescue them.
“At every security council meeting that I have attended, the President has always been concerned about Chibok girls. He thinks of how this can be done quickly. But it’s a very delicate issue and we cannot say we can deal with it next week. Every rescue attempt must take the safety of the girls into consideration.”
Osinbajo assured that “from the security reported we get, we will be able to bring back the girls but we must exercise some caution and patience and not sound as if it can be done but it’s not being done.”
In his remarks, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, who was represented at the programme by Remi Oyewunmi, assured that government was committed to locating and rescuing the Chibok girls.
He reiterated government’s commitment to locating and rescuing the Chibok girls, disclosing that over 3000 abductees have been rescued thus far by the military.
FCT police on red alert
However, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police command has been placed on red alert as members of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement gather today to demand the release of the Chibok girls.
Police sources say it has become necessary to put its men on alert so that the perceived peaceful protest would not be hijacked by hoodlums who may want to take advantage of it to perpetrate evil.
Daily Sun gathered that police escort would be on ground to follow the protesters to and from their take off points but would not allow them access to places marked as restricted areas.
Already, members of the movement who demonstrated in some parts of the country trooped into Abuja yesterday evening to join their counterparts in the FCT, to mark two years since the Chibok girls were kidnapped.
Efforts to ascertain the level of preparedness of the police, the FCT Police public relations officer, Anjuri Manzah, did not pick his call. Similarly, an SMS, sent to his mobile telephone set was not replied at the time of filing this report.