WATCH: The story of the kidnapped Nigerian school girls got even more frustrating as Amnesty International said authorities had advance warning of the attack, but military commanders did nothing. Brian Mooar reports.
Nigerian authorities had an early warning about the Boko Haram attack on a government-run school and mass kidnapping of hundreds of girls, one of the world’s leading human rights organizations said Friday.
According to Amnesty International, Nigerian security forces knew about Boko Haram’s plans to attack the Chibok Government Girls Secondary School four hours before the assault on April 14.
“The fact that Nigerian security forces knew about Boko Haram’s impending raid, but failed to take the immediate action needed to stop it, will only amplify the national and international outcry at this horrific crime,” Amnesty International’s Netsanet Belay said in a statement on Friday.
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It’s been nearly four weeks since the attack and Nigerian police said 276 girls still remain captive: 53 girls reportedly escaped from the Islamist group.
Belay, Amnesty’s Africa director of advocacy and research, called it a “gross dereliction of Nigeria’s duty to protect civilians.”
“The Nigerian leadership must now use all lawful means at their disposal to secure the girls’ safe release and ensure nothing like this can happen again,” he said.
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According to the BBC, the Nigerian government has not yet commented on the report.
Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau claimed responsibility for the abduction of more than 300 girls and threatened to sell them as “slaves.”
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The Nigerian government has faced widespread criticism and worldwide protests over its handling of the abduction of the girls, who were asleep in their dormitory when Boko Haram gunmen arrived at the school in the town of Chibok, in Borno state.
The governments of Canada, United State, United Kingdom, France and China have all pledged support to help Nigerian authorities find the girls.
The Canadian government confirmed earlier this week it would provide surveillance equipment, with Canadian personnel to operate it, to assist with search and rescue efforts, but would not give military equipment to Nigeria to take on Boko Haram as Nigeria’s vice president Namadi Samba had requested.
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Amnesty said it verified reports from “damning testimonies” that indicated Nigeria’s military headquarters in Maiduguri, 130 kilometres away, and an outpost in Damboa, 36.5 kilometres away, learned of the impending attack soon after 7:00 p.m. on April 14.
“But an inability to muster troops – due to poor resources and a reported fear of engaging with the often better-equipped armed groups – meant that reinforcements were not deployed to Chibok that night,” Amnesty’s statement read.
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The report included examples of testimony from people who say they alerted authorities ahead of the attack.
The report said a contingent of local police in Chibok and 17 military personnel did try to take on Boko Haram after the attack got underway, but the militants overpowered the authorities and one solider was reportedly killed.
Since the attack, another eight girls were kidnapped from the town of Waraba, further north in Borno state, and hundreds of people were reportedly massacred in the town of Gamboru Ngala, near the border with Cameroon.
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Residents of Gamboru Ngala reported more than 300 people were killed when militants, believed to be Boko Haram, opened fire in a night market and set fires to shops and homes. But the Nigerian government has said the death toll is between 100 and 150 people.
Boko Haram has been blamed for both of those incidents.
Federal Senator Ahmed Zannah told local news organization ThisDay Nigerian security forces had been in Gamboru Ngala to protect the area from a possible attack, but left a short time before the assault to follow up on reports Boko Haram militants were moving towards the border region with captive girls.
Boko Haram has been fighting to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria, governed by Sharia law, for the past five years and has been responsible for a string of deadly attacks.
According to The Associated Press, there have been at least 1,500 deaths as a result of Boko Haram-related violence this year alone.
The Canadian government listed Boko Haram as a terrorist organization under the Criminal Code of Canada in December 2013.
With files from The Associated Press
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