A United States Defence Department yesterday said it could not confirm the statement of Nigeria’ s Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, on the location of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.
Badeh, had on Monday, while receiving members of the Citizens Initiative for Security Awareness outside the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, said the military had located where the girls were being held.
He was quoted to have said, “We want our girls back; our military can do it, but where they are held, we cannot go with force.
“If we go with force, what will happen? They will kill them. So, nobody should come and say the Nigerian military does not know what it is doing. We know what we are doing; we can’t go and kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back. So, we are working.
“The good news for the girls is that we know where they are, but we cannot tell you military secrets here. Just leave us alone; we are working and we will get the girls back.”
But, the spokesperson of Pentagon, Army, Col. Steve Warren, while addressing journalists in Washington, DC, said the Department is yet to confirm the comments made by the Nigerian military boss.
He said efforts are ongoing by the security personnel to secure the release of the girls, stressing: “Our men and other international experts are still searching for the girls; we are going to rescue them.”
