• Saraki calls for foreign assistance
• Senators: Meeting with Jonathan Useful, Promising

Omololu Ogunmade, Michael Olugbode and Hammed Shittu

The United States said yesterday that it had offered the federal government help in its search for around 200 girls abducted by Islamist militants from a school in Chibok, Borno State.

"We have been engaged with the Nigerian government in discussions on what we might do to help support their efforts to find and free these young women," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told a daily briefing.

"We will continue to have those discussions and help in any way we can," Reuters quoted her as stating.
Harf did not elaborate on the kind of assistance Washington is offering, but said: "We know Boko Haram is active in the area and we have worked very closely with the Nigerian government to build their capacity to fight this threat."

In fiscal year 2012, the United States provided over $20 million in security assistance to Nigeria, part of that to build the country’s military, boost its capacity to investigate terrorist attacks and enhance the government's forensic capabilities, she said.

On a similar note, former Kwara State Governor, Senator Bukola Saraki has called on the international community to reciprocate the past assistance rendered by the Nigerian government by helping the country to bring back the abducted schoolgirls.

A statement issued by Saraki yesterday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, said: "Nigeria will embrace every act of support from our friends as no meaningful efforts are too small, and no attempts to bring back our girls will be considered insignificant."

He, however, commended the country’s security personnel for their unwavering efforts in trying to locate the children, but added that it had become evident that the rescue efforts required the full support and cooperation of both Nigerians and its friends and allies in the international community, especially those that share borders with Nigeria.

"Since this ugly incident occurred, it has been evident that these rescue efforts require the full support and cooperation of both Nigerians, and our friends and allies in the international community - especially those that share our borders.

"Nigeria has always demonstrated that it is always ready to extend its hands in support when there is a crisis in the international community as demonstrated by our continental peacekeeping efforts. It is time for the international community to do the same," he said.

Saraki said given the nature of the terrain in North-eastern Nigeria, the same level of technical support that the international community has provided in trying to locate the missing Malaysian Airline flight MH370 must at this time be extended to Nigeria.

"The degeneracy of this abduction has demonstrated that now more than ever, the world must come together to combat terrorism for the sake of our shared humanity," he stated.

The senator added that Nigeria would embrace every act of support from "our friends. No meaningful efforts are too small and no attempts to bring back our girls will be considered insignificant.

"With the reports of the abducted girls being ferried to neighbouring countries, fluid intelligence gathering and sharing at this time is also highly crucial.

"This is why I would like to also appeal to our friends and allies to provide our security agencies with any relevant information that will help in completing this mission.

"Our military must be supported in every way possible – in the same way that our political resolve must continue to remain strong. And, as a country, we must remain unrelenting and unanimous in demanding that the abducted girls be united back with their families."

He also urged the federal government to continuously update the citizenry and the world on the progress being made with respect to the rescue of the girls, as well as the challenges it is encountering.

"This is no easy task. To surmount this, we must all work together. All hands must be on deck. Together, we can bring back our loved ones," he said.

Meanwhile, the meeting of 21 senators with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday night, ended on a promising note, THISDAY was reliably informed yesterday.

Although some of the senators contacted on the meeting declined to comment on details of the deliberations, others said it was on security matters that was not meant for public consumption.

However, a senator told newsmen that the meeting was very reassuring and promising with regards to the insurgency threatening the nation.

"Yes, I was at the meeting but l can't discuss it with you because it was a security meeting. All l can tell you is that it was a very useful meeting," he said.

It was also learnt yesterday evening that the president assured the senators that his administration was not leaving any stone unturned in its commitment to tackle security challenges bedevilling the nation.
He was also said to have told the senators that his administration would deploy every power within its reach to ensure that the abducted students of Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State, regained their freedom.

At the meeting, which held between 10 pm and 2 am, Jonathan was said to have restated his earlier mandate to the service chiefs to ensure the return of the schoolgirls said to have been married off to members of the Boko Haram sect.

It was also learnt that all the senators freely exchanged views with the president and his team, irrespective of their political affiliations.

THISDAY also learnt that the meeting provided useful insight into the security challenges confronting the nation and how the spectre of terrorism can be nipped in the bud.

The senators were led to the meeting by Senate President David Mark.
In a related development, the security agencies in Borno State have revealed that they do not have an authentic list of the kidnapped schoolgirls but were working on a speculative list that 223 students are still held in captivity by the terrorists.

Briefing newsmen yesterday, the Borno State Commissioner for Police, Tanko Lawan, who was flanked by the state Director of the Department of Security Services (DSS), Ahmed Abdullahi, revealed that the security agencies do not have in their possession what could be termed the authentic list of the abducted students.

He said they would require the assistance of the parents of the abducted students to obtain the pictures and names of the missing students in order to have an authentic list.

He said all they had is a speculative list obtained from the school, which had said 276 girls were abducted and 53 had regained their freedom, bring the number of girls still in captivity to 223.

"It is incumbent on the parents to come forward with pictures and the names of the abducted students in order for us to properly document those that escaped and those still in captivity," he said.

The CP, who disclosed that about 530 students were writing their examinations at the Chibok school, said they had selected the community, because of the heightened insecurity in five other schools in Lassa, Ashiga Shiya, Warabe and Izge

He called on the members of the public with useful information that could lead to the rescue of the students to come forward and offer their assistance.

Lawan said security agencies in Borno could be reached on the phone numbers: 08075897377, 08081777309 and 08036121490.