Boko Haram used Chibok ransom Government paid to buy powerful weapons – Military sources

The recent ransom paid to Boko Haram in exchange for the release of some Chibok girls have contributed to the recent upsurge in the killings and disappearances of soldiers engaged in the fight against the insurgents, senior military sources have revealed.

However, the Federal Government denied exchanging insurgents for the abducted girls and paying a ransom to the sect.

It was learnt that the insurgents demanded for $50m for the release of the girls but about a quarter of the sum was eventually paid.

The source said Federal Government paid the cash in two currencies – the naira and the CFA Francs to the leaders of the sect to facilitate the release of the girls.

But, the highly-ranked military men who are engaged in the war, and who craved anonymity because they were not authorised to speak for the military authorities, attributed the recent upsurge in the activities of the insurgents to the huge ransom paid for the release of the girls.

In October, 83 soldiers were reported missing days after they came under a Boko Haram attack. 

Though there have been increasing reports of soldiers either missing or killed since the Chibok girls were released, the military initially denied the report, it later said that only 39 soldiers were missing.

Also, on November 4, seven military men, including Lt.-Col. Muhammad Abu-Ali, were killed on their way to reinforce troops at Mallam Fatori during  a Boko Haram attack. Two days later, one soldier was also killed while four others were wounded in the line of duty.

In October, 21 of the over 200 girls abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014 were released by the group.

But the military sources insisted that Boko Haram did not release the girls without getting anything in return and that the Federal Government indeed paid a ransom and released some of the group’s strategists that were detainees.