Boko Haram: 10 freed women not police personnel – Police

The Borno Police command has clarified that 10 women rescued from Boko
Haram are neither police women nor wives of police personnel.

It will be recalled that the Federal Government in a statement had on
Saturday announced release of 13 persons by the Boko Haram insurgents,
sequel to negotiations brokered by the International Committee of Red
Cross (ICRC).

The freed persons are three male workers of the University of
Maiduguri and 10 women, kidnapped in a raid by the militant group on a
military/police convoy on Damboa Road, between June and July, 2017, in
Borno State.

However, Damian Chukwu, Police Commissioner in Borno, while addressing
newsmen during the monthly police officers' meeting on Monday in
Maiduguri confirmed that the women were not police women or wives of
personnel.

He described reports indicating that 10 police women were among the 13
persons released by Boko Haram insurgents as "misleading".

"That information is false, I have to react to it. It will be recalled
that on 20th June, 2017, a burial party of one our women sergeants
attached to the SIB who died in the course of duty was being taken
home to Lassa in Askira-Uba Local Government Area for burial.

"And due to security encumbrance on Maiduguri-Damboa Highway, they
were under military and police escort, on getting to a town about 30
kilometres from Maiduguri; they were ambushed by the Boko Haram and
some women who took advantage of the empty space in the truck.

"So the women were trapped; we do not know their number but a few of
them who were able to jump down, scampered for safety, escaped. Those
of them who could not make it were taken away with the truck by the
Boko Haram.

"Among them, since that time, we recorded only one woman inspector
attached to the CIB, who happened to be a very close friend of the
deceased sergeant, the rest of them are not police women and they are
not wives of police personnel," he said