23:19
Reaches agreement with Nigeria on intelligence sharing
UK spy plane breaks down
Jonathan meets with security chiefs
Senate set to endorse emergency rule extension
Jaiyeola Andrews, Omololu Ogunmade, Damilola Oyedele, Michael Olugbode and Aisha Wakaso
The United States has said no final decision has been taken as to whether its special forces will be involved in the rescue operation of the abducted Chibok girls, explaining that the location of the girls will determine how to ensure their rescue.
The US Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman, said this during a briefing on Saturday at the recently concluded security summit in Paris, France.
The full transcript of the briefing, which also involved the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and the State Department's Counter-terrorism Coordinator, Tina Kaidelow, was made available to THISDAY by the US Embassy in Abuja monday.
Notwithstanding the US' position on whether it would send its special forces to assist in the rescue of the girls, President Goodluck Joanthan Monday held a closed-door meeting with the service chiefs and heads of security agencies to review the fragile security situation in the country.
The meeting, according to presidency sources, also discussed measures being put in place to ensure the safe release of the abducted girls.
THISDAY also learnt that the Senate, barring any last minute changes, would today endorse the president's request for an extension of emergency rule imposed on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.
At the Paris briefing, Sherman restated that a US multi-disciplinary inter-agency team had already been deployed to Nigeria and was working closely with Nigeria's military.
"No decision has been made yet because first we have to find out where the girls are. And where they are will certainly dictate how, in fact, one can get them home, and there are many ways to do that. This is – if there were to be a rescue operation – there may be other ways to bring them home, but if it were to be a rescue operation, that's a very specific skill set and not every army in the world has that skill set.
"I know that there are some training that has been done with units of the military in Nigeria to build those skills, in other words, special forces' skills. Whether they'd be able to attempt a rescue, I think it would just depend on the circumstances," Sherman said.
She however noted that when the abducted girls are located, Nigeria would decide on how to proceed, and whether there would be a US or Western military involvement.
She added that all countries participating in the rescue efforts were currently focused on coordinating their information, intelligence and resources.
Amidst fears that Boko Haram had infiltrated the Nigerian military and possibly leadership, Sherman said the US is currently following a protocol which it uses when sharing intelligence with any country, not just Nigeria.
"...This is also really driven by not only the Nigerians but by Benin, Cameroun, Niger and Chad. Really, this is African-led. This is not Western, US, UK, EU, France-led. We have the resources that we can bring to bear, and that's our responsibility to do so and to support Africa, but this is African-led," she added.
Sherman stated that the matter of ransom exchanges, following Boko Haram's demand for the release of their imprisoned sect members in exchange for the abducted girls, was purely the decision of the Nigerian government.
It is not an American decision, she said, adding that Nigeria is a sovereign country whose government would make choices it considers appropriate.
"Our views on this (ransom) are however well known," she added.
In addition, the Pentagon yesterday announced that the US had come to an agreement allowing it to share some intelligence with Nigeria to bolster the search for the girls.
The US military is flying manned and unmanned surveillance aircraft over Nigeria, but had been unable to directly share intelligence with the Nigerian government because it had not established protocols with the government.
According to Reuters, Pentagon spokesman, Colonel Steve Warren, said the agreement was struck over the weekend.
"We have finalised an agreement with the Nigerians to share intelligence with them - specifically intelligence relating to the kidnapped girls," Warren told reporters.
While the agreement would allow the US military to share some intelligence - including aerial imagery - with Nigeria, it does not mean that all raw US intelligence gathered could be shared, Warren added.
UK Spy Plane Breaks Down
However, a new twist was added to the search and rescue efforts of the schoolgirls yesterday when Britain announced that a military surveillance aircraft it had despatched to help search for the missing girls in Nigeria had broken down en route, Reuters reported.
The plane, an RAF Sentinel, was deployed on Sunday after Nigeria accepted an offer of help from British Prime Minister David Cameron.
It was meant to join US aircraft in the search for the missing girls who were abducted last month by Islamist group Boko Haram.
"The Sentinel has been delayed en route by a technical problem which is being investigated," a spokeswoman for Britain's Ministry of Defence told Reuters.
"We are currently unable to provide the aircraft's expected time of arrival."
The plane, which Britain had said would operate from Accra in Ghana, was forced to land in Senegal for repairs.
Jonathan Meets with Security Chiefs
But in a bid to complement the assistance of the international community, the president held a closed-door meeting yesterday with his service chiefs and heads of security agencies to review the fragile security situation of the country.
Yesterday's meeting came on the heels of the regional security summit on Boko Haram held Saturday and hosted by French President Francois Hollande in Paris.
Those in attendance at yesterday's security meeting included the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant- General Kenneth Minimah; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Ademola Amosu.
The Inspector General of Police (IG), Muhammed Abubakar, and Director General of State Security Service (SSS), Ita Ekpeyong, were also at the meeting which lasted for hours.
Though details of the meeting were not disclosed, THISDAY gathered that they discussed the security situation in the country and reviewed the decisions agreed to at the regional security meeting in Paris.
Jonathan and the Presidents of Benin Republic, Chad, Niger and Cameroun attended the Paris meeting, during which they agreed to forge a common front to combat the Boko Haram menace.
Presidential Committee Starts Work in Borno
In a related development, the fact-finding committee on the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls yesterday began its task in Borno State when it met with security chiefs in the beleaguered state.
The committee, which had earlier met with the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Garbai El-Kanemi, went into closed-door meeting with the security chiefs.
Chairman of the committee, Brigadier General Ibrahim Sabo (rtd) while speaking before the meeting, said part of the terms of reference of the committee was to liaise with the Borno State Government to establish the circumstances leading to the opening of the school for boarding students when other schools were closed and to interface with the state and the security services on the exact number of girls missing and their identities.
He said the committee had spent the last few weeks in Abuja engaged in interactive sessions and consultations with a broad range of sources and contacts.
"We also met with the newly-appointed United Nations Secretary General Special Representative on the Chibok Abduction, as well as foreign experts and officials who are in the country as part of the support pledged by various nations on the federal government's rescue efforts and dealing with the insurgency," Sabo said.
In attendance at the meeting were the acting GOC of the 7 Division, Borno State Commissioner of Police, state Director of DSS, and the heads of the Nigerian Air Force, customs and immigration services, among other paramilitary organisations.
Senate to Endorse Emergency Rule
In the meantime, barring any last minute change, the Senate will today endorse the president's request for extension of emergency rule in the three North-east states, it was learnt yesterday.
The upper chamber had deferred debate on the request last Thursday, but promised to carry out further consultations before taking a final decision on the matter.
THISDAY reliably gathered yesterday that unlike last week when senators failed to open the president's request for the extension for debate, deliberations and a substantial decision would be taken today. Against this backdrop, the matter has been listed for discussion in the Senate's Order Paper.
Speaking with THISDAY on the telephone yesterday, Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, confirmed that the item had been listed in the Order Paper for deliberation today but he declined to affirm whether it would be passed or not.
According to him, what is certain is that deliberations on it will continue today in accordance with last Thursday's decision, insisting that no one could however be sure where the pendulum would swing in the end.
"Yes, deliberation on it will continue tomorrow (today). It is in the Order Paper. You remember that the matter was adjourned till tomorrow last Thursday. But you cannot say whether the resolution will be yes or no," he said.
Ahead of the Senate's scheduled meeting with the service chiefs last week, senators from the north on the platform of Northern Senators' Forum (NSF), had vowed to oppose further extension of emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, claiming that it had been counter productive.
Northern Govs Ask Security Agencies to Scale up Surveillance
But as governors from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe come to terms with the knowledge that they would have to govern for another six months under emergency rule, the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) yesterday called on security agencies working to curtail the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram sect to scale up their surveillance activities.
In a statement issued yesterday in Minna by the chairman of the forum and Niger State Governor, Dr Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, the northern governors urged them to re-strategise their operations to end the scourge of what he described as senseless killing of defenceless citizens in the region.
Aliyu, who was reacting to Sunday's bomb explosion in Kano which killed five persons at a relaxation point in the city, also appealed to the terrorists to give peace a chance, saying reverting to acts of violence in the city of Kano after months of reprieve was a big blow on efforts to advance the course of peace.
The statement urged the perpetrators of the dastardly act to lay down their arms, while cautioning security agencies against complacency.
The forum commiserated with the families of those killed or injured during the blast and called on all security agencies to redouble their efforts in the discharge of their responsibilities of protecting the lives and property of citizens.
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