2nd Chibok girl rescued

ABUJA — A second girl who was among more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in a raid on a school in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok more than two years ago has been rescued, the Nigerian army said.

Army spokesman Sani Usman said in an emailed statement that the girl was among 97 women and children held hostage by Boko Haram who were freed on Thursday morning after clashes between soldiers and armed fighters in the northeastern Borno state. Thirty-five Boko Haram fighters were killed in the fighting.

Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki, the first “Chibok girl” to be rescued, was found by soldiers working with a vigilante group on Tuesday near Damboa, south of Maiduguri in the remote northeast where Boko Haram has waged a seven-year rebellion to set up their own state.

Officials confirmed that Amina was one of 219 girls abducted from the government school in Chibok in April 2014. Late on Thursday, the army said an operation in Damboa at around 11am local time led to the rescue of nearly 100 hostages who included the second Chibok schoolgirl.

“We’re glad to state that among those rescued is a girl believed to be one of the Chibok Government Secondary School girls that were abducted,” said Usman, adding that she was receiving medical treatment.

He said her name was Serah Luka and she was from the northeastern town of Madagali, in the state of Adamawa, which borders Borno.

The army spokesman said it was possible that three other girls that Serah referred to as having fled and been rescued when the troops arrived may also be among the Chibok girls, adding that this was being investigated.

“She averred that she reported at the school barely two months and one week before her unfortunate abduction along with other girls over two years ago,” said Usman.

Earlier the military was pressing ahead with operations in the Sambisa Forest area of the northeastern state of Borno, where the Islamists have camps, said governor Kashim Shettima.

“They [soldiers] are already moving into the forest aggressively,” Shettima told reporters at President Muhammadu Buhari’s official residence in Abuja where he brought rescued student Amina Ali.

“They’re expending a lot of resources and time in the Sambisa Forest. I’m an eternal optimist. I believe that in the coming days and weeks more recoveries will be made.”

The girls were abducted from the remote Borno town of Chibok on April 14, 2014, causing global outrage and bringing worldwide attention to the brutal conflict.

Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai said the discovery of Amina near the forest on Tuesday “raises our hope that others are still alive”.

“By God’s grace, the operation going on in Sambisa, in a matter of weeks we’ll have all the girls back safe and alive,” he added.

Amina Ali has been quoted as saying that all of the girls kidnapped more than two years ago were still being held in the former game reserve. But she said “six were already dead”.

Nigeria’s military, which has reversed significant territorial gains by Boko Haram in the last 15 months, has been targeting the forest since late April to clear it of remaining rebels.

Defence Minister Mansur Dan Ali told Buhari at Thursday’s meeting with Amina Ali that the area of semi-desert scrub was “the haven of Boko Haram terrorists”.

Seven soldiers have been killed in the operation —four due to “enemy action” and homemade bombs and three in road accidents, he said.

Sixty-nine Boko Haram fighters have been killed, he added. — AFP