Dear KFBers, we have got loads of interesting stories in tonight's #MajorHeadlinesYouMissed Today feature...enjoy! FG Shi...
FG Shielding Chibok Girls From Their Parents
82 of Nigeria’s Chibok schoolgirls are free thanks to a prisoner swap between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram. The release is the biggest since the armed group swarmed a school in northern Nigeria in April 2014, kidnapping 276 girls.
But the ordeal is not over for the freed girls and their families, according to Peter Joseph, the uncle of one of the 21 schoolgirls released by Boko Haram in October 2016.
More than six months later, his niece, Sarah, is still in a government rehabilitation camp where the girls rarely see their families. “We were very happy to learn of the news that she was released,” he told The Stream’s Femi Oke.“But we are not very much impressed with the way the government is handling the whole rehabilitation process.”
Since her release, he’s only seen his niece once, when he traveled to Chibok last December. Even then, he says there were set time limits on visits, and many topics – like her experience as a prisoner – were off limits. He calls her often, but said she is only allowed to talk for two-three minutes before being cut off. He said his niece has told him that “only females can sneak in to see them sometimes but males are not allowed into the compound.”
“Nobody is allowed to see them,” he said. “So it’s like another imprisonment, but this one has to do with the government.”
Peter’s sister Elizabeth is still being held by Boko Haram.
The Stream also discussed the dangers of isolation; what rehabilitation means in this situation; and whether the ‘Chibok girls’ have become too famous to ever truly be free.
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FG Won’t Provide Updates On Buhari’s Health, Treatment
It appears the Federal Government has ruled out the possibility of providing daily bulletin/update on President Muhammdu Buhari’s health status and treatment while in London, the United Kingdom.
Top Federal Government sources told Saturday PUNCH that there was no need for such updates since Buhari had handed over to his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who is now the acting President.
The President had travelled to London last Sunday, almost two months after returning from the European country for medical treatment.
He had first left the country for London on January 19, 2017 and returned on March 10, 2017, in what would be his longest medical trip ever so far.
He had after returning to Nigeria confessed that he had never been that sick in his life, adding that he would again embark on another medical trip in the future.
There had been overwhelming calls from several sections of the country for the Federal Government to make the President’s health status public.
Having returned to London for another medical vacation, there had also been calls for the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to provide daily updates on the President’s health.
Mohammed, had in December 2009, in his capacity as the spokesperson for the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, stated that, “The current situation, whereby ministers and aides of the President give out uncoordinated information on his health, is doing more harm than good.”
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Paris Club Loot: Governor Agrees To Refund $2.5m
The state governor accused of building a hotel with $3 million of the controversial London-Paris Club loan refund has sneaked into Aso Rock Presidential Villa in search of soft-landing.
The Nation gathered yesterday that the embattled governor had in the last 48 hours been roaming the corridors of the Presidential Villa in desperate search for help.
He was said to have offered to refund the balance of $2.5 million quietly to the EFCC without being further investigated, given that one of the proxies used to launder the funds had already surrendered $500,000 to the anti-graft agency.
It was learnt that the governor, who disguised to enter the Villa, avoided the prying eyes of journalists at the seat of power.
A government source said: “The governor was looking visibly disturbed, but it was obvious he was seeking help. The manner he managed his shuttle to the Villa suggested that he had something up his sleeves.
“I think he is ready to refund $2.5 million since one of his proxies has paid back about $500,000.
“The governor had audience with some government officials.
“We learnt he made a commitment to pay back quietly to avoid any political backlash.
“He also does not want to be exposed or his proxies subjected to trial.
“The truth is that this government will not give waiver to anybody or group in its anti-corruption campaign.”
Already, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered about N1.420 billion from some firms and a consultant who benefited from the N19 billion illegally deducted by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).from the loan refund.
Out of the sum, about N1.2 billion was frozen in the account of a consultant alone. //
