Nigeria's security forces are losing credibility – more efforts needed to rescue the girls

On Tuesday, one week after up to 234 schoolgirls were abducted by fighters of the Islamist sect Boko Haram, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) criticized Nigeria's government and security forces sharply, stating that it is a sign of incapacity that there is no reliable information on the actual number of abductees or their whereabouts. "There must be more efforts to set them free," demanded Ulrich Delius, the STP's Africa-consultant, in Göttingen. "Nigeria's police, army and governors will lose all their credibility if they try to deceive the public about the fate of the abductees."

On Maundy Thursday, army officials claimed that 121 of the 129 students who had been abducted three days earlier had been set free. A few hours later however, parents and teachers had contradicted the official statement, stating that there is still no sign of the girls. Over the Easter holidays, new figures were published several times – but the information provided by the authorities and the security forces about the total number of abducted schoolgirls was contradictory. On the evening of Easter Monday, family members of the abductees had declared that the fate of the 234 girls is still unknown, while only 39 had managed to escape.

"The way Nigeria's authorities and security forces handled the hostage drama is typical. It is a clear sign of failure to protect the civilian population in the struggle against Islamist violence," criticized Delius. "In northern Nigeria, more than 3,000 people died in the fight against the Islamist terror of Boko Haram since a state of emergency was imposed on the three states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe in May 2013. Most of the victims were civilians. Nowadays, the terrorist sect Boko Haram is more present in the region than ever before, even if Nigeria's military and politicians seem sure of victory."

Heavily armed attackers had kidnapped the schoolgirls and driven them away in trucks, probably to one of the well-secured base camps of the terrorist movement in the Sambisa forest, which is located about 50 kilometers away from the raided school.

Ulrich Delius, head of STP's Africa department, is available for further questions: Tel. 0551 49906 27 or afrika@gfbv.de.