As the Nigerian government has so far failed to rescue over 200 girls kidnapped by terror group Boko Haram, a renowed Islamic cleric in the country has claimed that the insurgents are hiding in the Sambisa forest, and the government must use aerial surveillance to flush them out at the earliest as time is running out.
Nigerian scholar Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi told Naija Mayor, an independent online news source, that security agents should encircle the Sambisa forest and use aerial surveillance, which would lead to the capture of the abductors.
"Why it has taken the military so long to use the drone developed and manufactured by the Nigeria Air Force Institute of Technology in Kaduna. If the drone is working, this is the right time to use it," Gumi pointed out.
It is widely known that several parts of the Sambisa forest are strong hideouts of Boko Haram militants. Recently, some of the mothers of the abducted girls threatened to march naked into the forest, to rescue their daughters.
"The space is Sambisa forest - a must- since there are confirmed cases of escapees from it. The time is also against the criminals. Encircle all outlets from the forest, take aerial surveillance," Gumi added.
Boko Haram (translates as "Western education is a sin") kidnapped the girls from their school in Chibok on April 14. However, till now the Nigerian military forces have been unable to even track down the location of the Islamist militants. However, there has been a growing restlessness among the public as several sources indicated the locations of the militants' hideout. But the Nigerian army has no access to the area, and hence the combing operations have not been carried out in the locations.
The incident gained much international attention, after several activist groups started #bringbackourgirls movement on Twitter. The social media campaign has gained momentum, and recently even Nobel Peace Prize nominee Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who made a miraculous recovery after being shot in the head by the Taliban, posted a picture with #BringBackOurGirls poster.
(Ed: VP)
