- The British Military Advisory and Training Team (BMATT) in Nigeria has offered to assist the Nigerian armed forces in rescuing the abducted Dapchi school girls
- The general advisor of BMATT, Major Ian Robertson, disclosed that his team was still monitoring the situation closely, after which it will come in
- He expressed disappointment that an incident like this could have occurred at all
The British military has pledged to assist the Nigerian federal government in the rescue of the school girls from Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Dapchi in Yobe State, who were abducted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists, Guardian reports.
The pledge was made by Major Ian Robertson, the general advisor, British Military Advisory and Training Team (BMATT) in Nigeria, at a forum organised by Partners West Africa-Nigeria on prioritising the voices of women in security.
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NAIJ.com gathers that Robertson condemned the attack and lamented over the fact that girls’ schools have become soft targets for insurgents.
He disclosed that his team was still monitoring the situation closely, after which it will come in.
He stated: “Having heard about this particular issue recently, I am still trying to get more information about what is going on, but it is clearly very disappointing that something like this has happened, that the girls have been taken.
“But let me reassure you, from the British military perspective, that we are monitoring the event quite closely and we are cooperating with the armed forces of Nigeria to see how we can assist.”
Robertson pointed out that Europe has embraced the idea of gender perspective and security, and expressed the need for a military action plan for Nigerian women.
He disclosed that he was working at a very basic level to ensure that there is a gender perspective to the training his team provides for the Nigerian armed forces.
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the United States government strongly condemned the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls by suspected Boko Haram terrorists.
The spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State, Heather Nauert, at a press briefing on Thursday, February 22, said the U.S. was yet to get all the details about the abduction.
She said: “We are still trying to get all the details about that but we wanted to mention that we condemn in the strongest possible terms the terror attack on a school earlier this week in north-eastern Nigeria.
“The choice of targets including schools, markets and places of worship reflect the brutality of terror organisations. The victims in the attacks were girls who were simply seeking an education.
Survivors of Boko Haram - on NAIJ.com TV:
Source: Naija.ng
ROSY CREST
Saturday 24 February 2018