SAMBISA TOUR: Sorry we can’t meet your conditions, FG replies #BBOG

The conditions the Bring Back Our Girls Group (BBOG) gave for it to join in the one day tour of Sambisa Forest has been turned down by the Federal Government.

The government had in a letter dated January 11 and signed by Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, asked Oby Ezekwesili, one of the co-ordinators of the group, to nominate three of their members that will join the military on a guided trip into Sambisa forest in search of the missing Chibok girls.

According to the letter, the trip would give the BBOG group the opportunity to witness and better appreciate the efforts government is making to secure the release of the abducted girls.

It added that the tour will involve a select group of journalists, the ministers of defence and information, the Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Army Staff.

In its reply, the BBOG group in a letter dated January 13 and endorsed by Ezekwesili, gave conditions under which it will accept the invitation.

Among the conditions the group gave included change of date of the proposed tour to allow BBOG group have a pre-tour meeting with some top government officials and that Buratai must retract and apologise to the group for endorsing a statement by “a certain group” who visited him and described the BBOG movement as engaging in “social media terrorism”.

Read also: FG invites #BBOG to Sambisa, group gives conditions

However, in another letter to BBOG dated January 14 and signed by Mohammed, the Federal Government said, “Thank you for your letter, dated Jan. 13, which is in response to ours of Jan. 11, requesting that we change the date of the proposed guided tour of the North-East to accommodate a Pre-Tour Meeting between your organisation and some top officials of the Federal Government.

“We have also noted the conditions you gave for embarking on the trip which include the said Pre-Tour Meeting and the retraction of some remarks allegedly made by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. – Gen. Tukur Buratai, which the #BBOG finds to be slanderous.

“We regret, however, to inform you that we are unable to postpone the trip as scheduled.”

“We hope that the BBOG will drop its conditions and join the trip which shows the commitment of the Federal Government to securing freedom for the Chibok girls and its transparency in handling the issues of the girls”, the letter stated.

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