Nigeria Army Says Recaptures Abducted Girls’ Chibook Town

Control Crucial To Govt’s Reputation

ABUJA, Nov 16, (AFP): The Nigerian army said Sunday it had recaptured the northeastern town of Chibok, where Islamic militants abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in April, provoking a wave of global outrage. Control of Chibok is crucial to the reputation of the government of President Goodluck Jonathan and the military, which have both come under fire at home and abroad for their failure to rescue the girls.

The army recaptured the town from Boko Haram militants late Saturday, spokesman General Olajide Olaleye told AFP in a text message. “Mopping up ops ongoing. (The) town is now secured,” he said.

The operation came just days after Jonathan on Tuesday announced his bid for re-election, vowing to defeat Boko Haram whose brutal five-year insurgency has plagued his first term in office. Leading elder Pogu Bitrus told AFP that Chibok was recaptured in a joint operation with local vigilantes known as the Civilian Joint Task Force, who back up the military in several parts of the northeast where Boko Haram is active. He said the vigilantes fought inside Chibok while army soldiers “stayed outside the town to mop up the insurgents trying to escape”. Boko Haram fighters had captured the town on Thursday after a battle lasting several hours that local officials said left many victims among both the insurgents and the local militias.

Several residents said the army had fled the assault, leaving the vigilantes to fight on their own against Boko Haram. There was no immediate information about any casualties from Saturday’s battle for the town, which witnesses say is virtually empty of residents. Chibok, in the northeast Borno state, has been under a global media spotlight since Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls there in April, most of whom are still being held. The Islamists stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok on the evening of April 14 and forced the students onto trucks in a mass abduction that brought unprecedented attention to Boko Haram’s insurgency. Fifty-seven managed to escape.

Torched 
After capturing Chibok on Thursday, Boko Haram militants torched its churches, although most of the town was already mostly in ruins after the April attack. The local police station and government offices were never rebuilt. Neighbouring villages were also set ablaze during Thursday’s battle. Despite its sparse resources, the Civilian Joint Task Force appears to have become a substitute for the army in many areas of the restive northeast of Nigeria. Armed with bows, machetes, clubs and homemade rifles, the fighters retook the commercial hub of Mubi in southern Borno state from Boko Haram with the help of hunters.

The insurrection by Boko Haram, which wants to create an Islamic state in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria, has claimed more than 10,000 lives in the past five years. The militants have seized more than 20 towns and villages in the northeast in recent months despite pledges by Jonathan to boost security. Jonathan, who has been heavily criticised for his response to the abduction and only met with the hostages’ families in July, pledged last week to rescue the kidnapped girls as he announced his reelection bid. Africa’s most populous nation goes to the polls on Feb 14, with Jonathan effectively given a free run at a second term after the ruling Peoples Democratic Party endorsed him as its only candidate.

The insurgency — and Jonathan’s inability to stop it — has been a feature of his presidency and a key point of criticism for his opponents. Residents in the Nigerian town of Chibok were looking to local militias — and not the army — for rescue just days after the Islamist Boko Haram militants seized control there. The town in the northeast Borno state has been under a global media spotlight since Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls there in April, most of whom are still being held. It was again the focus of attention when militants seized the community on Thursday after firefights with militia members that sent the Nigerian army fleeing. “They (Boko Haram) had a very intense battle with the local vigilantes there, throughout the town,” Ayuba Chibok, uncle to one of the kidnapped girls, told AFP. “For now I have faith in them (vigilantes) much more than in the Nigerian army.” The militia fighters, who are government- backed, have become a key part of the battle against Boko Haram. Some 48 hours after the initial fighting, Boko Haram militants still had control of Chibok and “numerous people were dead,” said Pastor Enoch Mark, whose daughter and niece are among the girls held by Boko Haram. Since capturing Chibok, Boko Haram militants have torched its churches, though most of the town was already mostly in ruins after the attack in April that ended with the girls being taken.

The local police station, government offices were never rebuilt. Neighbouring villages were also burned during Thursday’s battle. Neither the Nigerian army nor the office of President Goodluck Jonathan responded to AFP’s requests for comment on the symbolic capture of the village. Jonathan has been heavily criticized for his lack of reaction during the mass abduction in April and only met with the hostages’ families in July. “He promised that the government and the soldiers know where the girls are and that we would be united with our sisters,” Chibok said. “And he also said that he would increase the security in our town, but it is the contrary that happened.” Despite their sparse resources, the militia fighters, known collectively as the Civilian Joint Task Force, appear to have become a subsitute for the army in many areas of the restive northeast of Nigeria. Armed with bows, machetes, clubs and homemade rifles, the fighters retook the commercial hub of Mubi in southern Borno state from Boko Haram with the help of hunters.

However, as claims that Boko Haram has committed massacres continue to mount, similar charges are being leveled against the militia fighters. One militia member claimed to have decapitated 41 Islamists near Biu in Borno state, where witnesses said they saw the fighters carrying the heads of their victims through town on wooden pikes. “All I know is that the commander of the vigilantes is going to take back the town,” said Chibok community leader Pogu Bitrus, who added vigilantes are short of ammunition, but will attack. “The military withdrew as usual.”

Source-Arabtimes