Fresh facts have emerged in the quest to recover the remaining abducted Chibok girls, as veteran journalist and one-time negotiator, Ahmad Salkida, revealed.
Ahmad Salkida also revealed that the chances of getting the girls back are even more difficult as the girls are reportedly no longer with Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shakau after they have been married off.
In a Tweet thread that has raised so many debates of social media, Salkida narrated the roles he played in ensuring that the girls were returned following their abduction, stating that he was contacted two weeks after their kidnap by the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration.
“I was doing a menial job at the UAE when I was contacted just two weeks after the Chibok schoolgirls were kidnapped. I did all I could and was close to securing their release as the Shekau-led Boko Haram only wanted a swap of their members for the Chibok girls.
Read his account here:
1/ Four years ago, a middle ranking BH commander led dozens of fighters in search of food and other supplies in the remote town of Chibok, like an afterthought, they saw a chance to abduct school girls in GSS Chibok, the girls at the time were preparing for their exams.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
2/ The dozens of BH fighters faced no opposition during the abductn, as they struggled to convey their captives to the forest of Alagarno, the insurgent’s first war capital, which they named Timbuktu. It was in Timbuktu that they organised most of the horror we experience today.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
3/ Some of the girls were lucky to have escaped on their way to Timbuktu that night, because there were fewer fighters to hold more than 200 girls. At the beginning, the group didn’t know what to do with the girls, at least, not in the first one month of their captivity.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
4/ However, what many people did not know was that two weeks into the abduction, the Jonathan administration was already in touch with me for the peaceful release of the girls. By the way, I was in self-exile after pressure from the same Govt..
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
5/ I took an excuse where I was doing a menial job in the UAE (but still reporting the insurgency), to see the president, which was facilitated by Aliyu Gebi and Labaran Maku. By the 3rd of May, I was already on my way from Abuja to Madagali, Marwa and finally to a BH camp.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
6/ I got a proof of life for the president and another for the media in case I didn’t get back. The demands of BH then were simple, they wanted detained members taken to Damaturu and they will move the girls to Buniyardi for swap somewhere in between. There was no word on ransom
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
7/ I was provided with full military escorts frm Abj to Damaturu, Govt was supposed to make sure that 70 detainees were ready on my arrival in Damaturu to meet 30 there. The rest of the negotiating team was in Abj making sure the prisoners were on a plane before my arrival…
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
8/ On arrival in Damaturu, the military commander there was not briefed about my work. He was merely told to expect a VIP? At that time, the girls have been moved by BH, but there was no prisoners for exchange and I got a call from the former CDS to abort the operation.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
9/ The president later said before me that he did not call off the swap. There was a credible window, but zero Will to rescue the girls. BH were angry. I returned to the UAE to continue my hustle, but received invitatns not only by the former administratn, but the current govt.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
10/ 4 out of 5 process that I was involved in, we came close to a swap deal, but Govt in most instances did not provide the platform I presented with the required expertise. And whenever Govt dragged its feet, Shekau will shift the goal post.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
11/ I continued my reporting on the crisis, often critical of govt & BH, with both sides raising concerns. For me, I am a reporter before anything else, many officials consider me as somebody who was too independent minded for a process that needs to be shrouded in secrecy.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
12/ Govt began to look for alternatives to conclude what I’ve started & my former couriers stepped in as the primary ‘negotiators.’ It was a break for me bcz it is no longer negotiations, but mere transaction. Another reason was my insistence that the process must be domesticated
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
13/ I was a prickle in the flesh of our leadrs wt my counter claims of official narratives. A day after I exclusivly released a video of the girls, something I’v done in the past, I was declared wanted by same military tht provided me wt escorts, military aircraft for assignmnts
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
14/ I was amazed to learn later that the terms that saw the release of some of the girls was unfavourable than what I presented, but as my friend will say, even if we come up with a cure for cancer, the war economy and elites would rather die than accept a cure from a talaka.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
15/ Today, my painstaking investigations on the #Chibokschoolgirls revealed that just a handful of the 113 #ChibokGirls are alive. Many of the girls have died as a result of cross fires and bombardments of the security forces that no doubt were intent on rescuing them.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
16/ I regret to state here that only 15 out of the 113 #Chibokgirls are alive today, based on my investigations in the last 3 months and we have already seen some of them in a video, which I exclusively obtained and was published on SR website.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
17/ What is the status of the remaining 15 girls as far as negotiations are concerned? My investigations also revealed that, they are no longer under the control of #AbubakarShekau. According to sources, they are now ‘married’ and only their ‘husbands’ can decide their fates.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
18/ If they are divorced or the men are killed that is when Shekau’s decision takes precedence, and in this instance, since the girls have been indoctrinated, their leader has no right to negotiate for their release, no matter the ransom offered, reliable multiple sources said.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
19/ It will be unbearable to share the names of the 15 that are alive here, this is the responsibility of Govt. When I was involved I regularly provided proof of life. Govt must demand that to prove me wrong or stop negotiating for many of the girls that don’t exists… 😢
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
20/ The secrecy around the condition of the #ChibokGirls and most recent #DapchiGirls debacle by those involved is the reason people like me are out of the picture. The fact remains that under the present circumstances there is NO room for peace settlement.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
21/ The way out for these girls, is a military rescue or negotiate wt individual captors to release their ‘wives’ in return for some kind of deal, but this will mean death to these fighters bcz the terror group now sees the girls as part of their own and must be protected.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
22/ How comes there is little or no information about the girls and both the parents and campaigners are in the dark? Because, Govt resist independent reporting of the crisis, most of the reports are choreographed & Nigerians are also not ready to hear the truth or stand by it.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
23/ Reporting the #LakeChadCrisis is not just a job for me, Borno is my home, this crisis has affected me too. I’v invested 13yrs of my 18yrs journalism career to follow this story in a way no reporter or researcher has done, hence my knowledge of this crisis can’t be dismissed.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
24/ I’v risked my life and that of my family in the past and even now, not only to tell the story, but to play the role of a mediator and fact finder. But as soon as the FG found alternatives, my sacrifices got an official ridicule and I am being hounded.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
25/ I hold no other intention of doing this than the need to stir a debate to demand more insights and bring closure to the parents. The nation must not fail you from rescuing your daughters and also fail to tell you the truth.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018
26/ My heartfelt condolences to the parents of the near 100 that have perished or have not returned home and apparently not with their captors. But you must always remember that your daughters were stronger than the rest of us that couldn’t do more to avert this catastrophe.
— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018