TVC N. The Office of the former President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday debunked claims that the last administration rejected an offer by British forces to rescue the kidnapped Chibok school girls.
A statement issued by Media Adviser to the ex-President, Ikechukwu Eze, reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a report that has been trending, without proper attribution, to the effect that the last administration rebuffed British offer to rescue the kidnapped Chibok school girls.
“We wish to promptly point out that nothing can be further from the truth, as Nigerians are conversant with the efforts made by the Jonathan administration towards rescuing the Chibok girls, especially in relation to collaborating with the international community, in the bid.
“We can confidently say that the lies in this report are self -evident. This is because the international press as well as the Nigeria media actively covered the multinational efforts and collaboration which involved some of the major powers deploying their crack intelligence officers to work with our own security operatives, and those of our neighbours.
“In the course of the mission, the international team, including members from Nigeria’s neighbours of Chad, Niger and Cameroun, met regularly with our own intelligence officers to plan and conduct their operations.
“In fact, the Jonathan administration was so genuinely supportive that the foreign powers involved were granted permission to overfly our airspace, while conducting the search and rescue missions.
“We would wish to recall that this collaboration was made possible following letters personally written by former President Jonathan to ex- President Barack Obama of the United States, President Francois Hollande of France, Mr. David Cameron, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as well as personal contacts made to the Governments of Israel and China, seeking their assistance in the search for the abducted Chibok girls.”
Stressing that some people are playing politics with the issue of the Chibok girls, he said that such people will stop at nothing to further their interest.
He urged media houses to always cross-check their facts before rushing to publish false information, especially when being spread by those who want to unfairly promote their own pride, against the national interest.
