Chibok abduction: Police offers N50m reward for information

Twenty-three days after the kidnap of 234 teenage school girls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, the police on Wednesday said it is offering a N50 million reward for any credible information that would lead to their rescue.

The announcement is contained in a statement issued by Frank Mba, a CSP and force public relations officer, in Abuja.

The statement urged patriotic citizens with useful information to contact the following numbers: 09-2914649, 08081777309, 08055547536, 08032125050, 08034617591 and 08035969731.

It reassured that any information given would be treated anonymously and “with utmost confidentiality.”

On April 14, over 273 girls were abducted from their dormitory in Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

While about 39 of the girls had managed to escape, controversies have trailed the actual number of girls kidnapped.

Women across Nigeria have resorted to protests to demand the rescue of the girls. One of the protests, which started on April 30, has continued everyday by 3p.m. in Abuja. The women said their protest is a call for the Federal Government to do more in their efforts to rescue the girls.

Also, a Chibok women leader in Abuja, Naomi Mutah, was detained for over 12 hours by the police on Monday.

The police have, however, said that Mutah was only invited for an interview to help the police gather information to increase efforts towards rescuing the girls.

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday also welcomed an offer of help from the United States of America to rescue the girls.

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, threatened in a video to sell the abducted girls “on the market”.

Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped eight girls from Warabe village in Borno State, Monday night.

The kidnappings, and other attacks by Boko Haram, have overshadowed the hosting of the World Economic Forum, which started on Wednesday. The government hopes the event would draw attention to the potential of Africa’s biggest economy as an investment destination.