Boko Haram Video: 36 Girls Identified …As US Begins Surveillance To Track Students – Gov Shettima

The Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima has confirmed that 36 of the girls abducted from the school in Chibok, Borno State have been identified in the video released yesterday by Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, even as  Chairman of the Chibok Development Association, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, says the terrain where the video showing about 136 of the over 200 abducted girls was shot looks familiar.
Governor Shettima who said he was under pressure not to speak the truth in the  abduction saga stated that “ leadership calls for restraint. Believe me, if  I should speak the truth, heads will roll”.
Reports from CNN suggests that not all the girls in the video shown by Boko Haram were taken on April 14 because some of the relatives of the missing girls could not identify most of them in the footage while another report from Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana to CNN, suggests only two parents were able to identify their daughters and other girls may have been taken in abductions which occurred years ago.
Boko Haram terrorist group released the video Monday, showing the girls, kidnapped from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, chanting praises to Allah.
The self-acclaimed Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, announced in the video that the girls have converted to Islam.
There was no indication of where the video was shot but Dr. Bitrus, who is also leader of the Chibok Elders Forum, told newsmen yesterday that the vegetation in the video resembles that in the nearby Sambisa forest reserve.
Sambisa is widely known as the stronghold of Boko Haram.
Meanwhile, a number of parents of the abducted girls have been commenting on the 17-minute video, which shows some 136 girls wearing bulky hijabs and reciting the Holy Q’uran.
As at press time yesterday, some 54 parents had identified their daughters in the video, leaders of the school have confirmed.
Some of the mothers watched the video on television on Monday evening and yesterday and spotted their daughters among dozens of girls sitting on the ground and wearing veils, said Chairman, Parents/Teachers Association, Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Dumoma Mpur.
However, a parent of one of the abducted girls, Mallam Awana Babagana, was quoted as saying that with the release of the video, the parents believe their daughters were still alive.
He called on the Federal Government to do everything possible to secure the safe release of their daughters, saying: “I have seen the video but I couldn’t identify my daughter. I hope they are the ones, we will keep on praying until they are released.”
Another parent, who resides in Maiduguri but declined his identity for security reasons, was quoted as saying that he had the opportunity to watch the video but could not identify any of his missing daughters even as he alleged that the footage showing Shekau as leader of the sect is questionable.
Yet another parent, Lawan Zannah, spoke of how his sisters called him to switch on his television set to view the video, showing the alleged school girls.
According to him, there was no power supply; as such he couldn’t watch the programme.
“I have not watched it, but I hope they are the ones. It gladdened my heart when I heard that they showed the video on the girls, which means they are still alive. I call on the Federal Government to do everything possible to secure their release. We also call on you and other Nigerians to join us in praying for the safe release of our daughters,” Zannah stated.
On his part, another father of one of the kidnapped girls said: “I have not yet seen the video, but I am not really interested in what Boko Haram’s demands are. My daughter is a Christian, she will never change. I would rather she died as a Christian than convert to Islam.”
A prisoner exchange, he warned, would simply encourage more kidnappings, saying: “I don’t want a prisoner exchange either; our daughters are not prisoners, and they should not be exchanged for anyone.
“Let the government try to rescue them. If they have a prisoner exchange, that will look like the government is giving in to Boko Haram, and it will just encourage them to take more hostages. They will never stop.”
Similarly, Lagos-based lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has said that at least, 54 parents of the abducted schools girls have identified their children in the video shown by the Boko Haram leader.
Falana, who spoke when he addressed members of the National Conference Committees on Civil Society, Labour, Youths and Sports in Abuja yesterday, however, criticised the police for disrupting the peaceful protest by Nigerians aimed at forcing government to urgently take actions that could lead to the release of the abducted girls.
He said it was unfortunate that the Federal Government and its officials were unable to do anything to rescue the girls days after they were abducted.
Falana said, “Some parents that we have spoken with said that they have watched the video and have been able to identify their children.
“Others are also doing that now. But it is a shame that we are now calling on foreign countries to do what we ought to have done by ourselves before.
“Some government officials went on air to say no child was missing. Others claimed that they had rescued them. These people deceived Nigerians, the nation and the international community, yet government has not been able to penalise them.”
He warned members of the civil society to be wary of some organisations, who he said were being funded by the government with a plot to destabilise or plan counter protests anytime the genuine members of the society are preparing for theirs.
Falana said these set of civil societies “are not agents of change. Some are set up by the Federal Government to oppose the people.
“Government paid them and after each protest, they fight at Eagles Square, Abuja because of money.”
He said it was wrong to accuse members of the civil society of not doing enough unlike during the military, saying that during the military and colonial era, the enemies were commonly known.
In the meantime, the Plateau State chapter of Nigeria Union Journalists (NUJ), members of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday staged a peaceful protest in Jos, Plateau State, to demand the release of the over 200 girls abducted from Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok,  Borno State.
Christian and Muslim women in the state had last Thursday staged a peaceful protest where they walked from the Old Airport junction in the city to the Deputy Governor’s House at  Rayfield also demanding for the release of the girls.
Yesterday’s procession, which commenced at about 9am, also had members of the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN) and the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), who matched to the Plateau State House of Assembly where the crowd was addressed by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Joyce Ramnap.
In the meantime, the United States has begun flying “manned” missions over Nigeria to track down more than 200 abducted schoolgirls as experts pored over a new video seeking clues to where they are being held, reports have confirmed.
The missions, which commenced on Monday, involve the use of aircraft, including drones, to find the abducted teenage girls.
“We have shared commercial satellite imagery with the Nigerians and are flying manned ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) assets over Nigeria with the government’s permission,” a senior administration official said, asking not to be named.
It was not immediately clear what kinds of aircraft were being deployed, nor where they had come from.
Also, a new video released by the Boko Haram group purportedly showing about 130 of the girls was being carefully studied by American experts in the hope that it might yield vital clues as to where the girls are being held.
“Our intelligence experts are combing through every detail of the video for clues that might help ongoing efforts to secure the release of the girls,” State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki said.
“We have no reason to question its authenticity,” she added of the video.
Psaki recalled that the US policy was also “to deny kidnappers the benefits of their criminal acts, including ransoms or concessions.”

Christian and Muslim ladies in a peaceful protest over the abduction of Chibok School Girls in Bauchi on Monday.