Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has revealed that a planned U.S.-assisted operation to rescue the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014 was called off due to suspected leaks within the Nigerian military.
Speaking in an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday, Akinyemi explained how the operation, initiated by the Jonathan administration, was a joint effort between American forces and Nigerian troops.
According to Akinyemi, the plan was to rescue the abducted girls after Boko Haram militants had taken them from their school in Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2014.
He recalled the details of the operation, saying, “When the Chibok girls were picked up by Boko Haram, the Americans came in quietly at the invitation of the Jonathan administration, and in collaboration with the Nigerian troops. They discovered the camp where the girls were being kept. And they said, all right, we will throw gas into those camps, and while everybody is sleeping, including the Boko Haram militants, we’ll go in with the Nigerian troops and take out the girls.”
However, the mission was abruptly aborted after a reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Boko Haram fighters at the camp were wearing masks. Akinyemi explained that the presence of masked militants was a clear sign that the plan had been leaked to the insurgents.
He added, “When the Americans sent the reconnaissance aircraft over the camp, what did they find? Boko Haram militia were wearing masks, which means somebody within the Nigerian army had leaked to Boko Haram what the plan was.”
Akinyemi noted that the Americans decided to pull out of the operation, as they were unwilling to risk their troops’ safety under such compromised circumstances. “The Americans pulled out. They were not going to subject their troops to this,” he said.
This incident, according to Akinyemi, highlighted the need for a thorough cleansing of the Nigerian military. He called for the identification and removal of individuals within the armed forces who may have sympathies with Boko Haram or other militant groups like the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
“We must clean out from within the Nigerian troops people who are sympathetic towards Boko Haram or ISWAP or whatever it is,” Akinyemi emphasized.
The abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram was a major turning point in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism. The kidnapping, which shocked the world, resulted in the abduction of more than 250 girls, many of whom remain in captivity to this day, despite efforts to secure their release.
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