Suspected Boko Haram insurgents
have released Halima Umar, a corps member in Gwoza, Borno state, five months
after her abduction.
In a statement on Thursday, the
state government said Umar was freed through collaborative efforts involving
security agencies and an undisclosed journalist.
Abdulmalik Biu, general officer
commanding (GOC) 7 division of the Nigerian army, and the state director of the
Department of State Services (DSS) handed over the corps member to Kadafur, the
deputy governor at the government house, Maiduguri, on Thursday.
“A serving corps member,
kidnapped in January 2019 by one of the terror groups in the North East, Halima
Uwani Umar has been freed,” the government said in a statement.
“Her freedom came as a result of
a joint coordinated engagement involving key stakeholders. It is an outcome of
a preliminary level negotiation involving the state government, the Kalthum
Foundation for Peace, a non governmental organization with intermediatory
negotiation with the leadership of the terror group handled by a prominent
investigative journalist with critical access.
“The state government states that
the step is in line with its desire to work with strategic partners to open
lines of communication with the insurgents as a means of freeing several non combatant
captives of the terror groups.
“The strategic interventionist
team was empaneled to use every necessary tools and good spirited individuals
to engage the insurgents in noncombatant ways as a means of de-escalation
framework that will eventually result in freeing more captives and safe return
of displaced persons in the state.
“The insurgents released Ms Umar
as a sign of goodwill to commit to a new process of resolving the conflicts in
the region. The state government, the military, the DSS played vital roles
deploying professional field experience and strategic cover for the process.
The state government shall continually bring the media up to speed as may be
necessary.”
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