The Theatre Commander Joint Task Force (JTF) NE Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), Major General Waidi Shaibu, has handed over a rescued Chibok girl, Ihyi Abdu, to the Borno State Government.
Captain Reuben Kovangia, Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations Headquarters Theatre Command, said in a statement that the conduct of military operations across the theatre is key to achieving the mandate of OPHK, which is to restore normalcy in the Northeast for socio-economic activities to thrive.
According to the statement, “General Waidi emphasised that the plight of the remaining Chibok girls still in captivity had necessitated the conduct of military operations deep into the terrorists’ enclaves with the aim of facilitating their release, assuring that OPHK will continue to do its best to rescue the remaining Chibok girls in line with the strategic guidance of the Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa and Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja.”
Giving details of the rescue, the Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division Nigerian Army and Commander Sector 1 OPHK, Brigadier General Abubakar Haruna, said Ihyi and her two children were rescued by troops of the 21 Special Armoured Brigade Bama during offensive operations conducted within the Sambisa forest in June 2024.
General Haruna stated that Ihyi, 27 and Kibaku by tribe, hails from Kubur-Mbula village in Chibok LGA. While in captivity, she was married to one Abu Darda, an indigene of Plateau State, in Gwoza town in 2014, after which he relocated to Senegal.
Since her rescue, according to the GOC, Ihyi and her children have undergone detailed medical examinations.
In the same vein, 330 women and children rescued by troops of the OPHK were also handed over to the Borno State Government.
During the handover, the Theatre Commander, represented by Chief J9 (in charge of Civil Military Affairs) Navy Captain Mohammed Abdullahi, stated that the rescue was a result of the wet season operations in the Theatre, adding that the rescue was an indication that the logistics strategy in the conduct of the operations has been successful.
He thanked the Borno State Government for playing a key role in the non-kinetic efforts of the operations.
Receiving the rescued Chibok girl and 330 others on behalf of the Borno Government, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Borno State, represented by the Director of Social Welfare, Mrs Aishatu Shettima, thanked the military for its vigilance and efforts in rescuing the Chibok girl as well as the women and children.
She noted that they would be taken to a camp where they would be provided with psychosocial support, family tracing, skill acquisition training, and education for children, amongst other services, before their subsequent reunion with their families.
Military hands over rescued Chibok girl, 330 others to Borno govt
