Boko Haram: Chibok girls' parents going to Cameroon to verify child suicide bomber claim

Parents of Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by terror group Boko Haram in April 2015 will be sent to Cameroon to verify whether a would-be female suicide bomber arrested on 25 March is one of their daughters. The girl claimed she had been abducted from Chibok, a remote village in the restive Borno state, in April 2015.

The girl was arrested along with a female accomplice in northern Cameroon. They both carried explosives and were captured by local defence volunteers near the village of Limani.

The girl, who claims to be from Chibok, is believed to be aged between nine and 12 and she is probably too young to be part of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls, who are still missing. Her accomplice was at least 30 years old, and both spoke only in Kanuri language, a statement by Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, said.

"Cameroonian health and security officials on Monday started the treatment of an arrested suicide bomber who claimed to be one of the 219 missing Chibok Girls. The girl was found to be heavily drugged and bore several injuries on her body," the statement continued. "The girl's health condition had delayed her movement to the far north regional capital of Cameroon, Maroua, as earlier planned."

Boko Haram primarily carries out attacks in northern Nigeria and northern Cameroon. The group is renowned for kidnapping civilians, mainly women and children, and forcing them to carry out suicide bombing missions in crowded areas.

The Chibok girls were kidnapped as they were attending evening school. The mass-abduction stirred international outrage and shed light on the deadly insurgency of Boko Haram that, until then, had remained under-reported.

Earlier this year, Buhari ordered a fresh investigation into the kidnapping of the 219 girls.The president approved the new investigation after meeting with some parents of the missing girls as well as members of the Bring Back Our Girls movement, who had organised a march in the federal capital of Abuja.

Although Buhari declared a technical victory over the fight against the insurgents in December, Boko Haram has been carrying out scatteredattacks across north-eastern Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

Buhari also said he was ready to negotiate with the terrorists for the release of the Chibok girls. However, some analysts have pointed out that negotiations will unlikely occur after Boko Haram allied with the Islamic State (Isis).

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