Western Govts. knew whereabout of 80 Chibok girls - British envoy

A former British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Andrew Pocock has announced that a large group of missing Chibok girls were spotted by British and American surveillance officials after their disappearance on April 2014.

Dr.Pocock is quoted by a local TV channel as saying experts felt nothing could be done.

According to the Sunday Times, Dr Pocock said the Western governments felt “powerless” to help adding that any rescue attempt would have been too risky.

He explained that the Islamist terrorists group who had abducted the girls were using them as human shield.

A report by the U.K Sunday Times is alleging that the US and British governments knew where at least 80 of the… https://t.co/t7sxR1CPtU

— Channels Television (@channelstv) March 21, 2016

“A couple of months after the kidnapping, fly-bys and an American eye in the sky spotted a group of up to 80 girls in a particular spot in the Sambisa forest, around a very large tree, locally called the Tree of Life, along with evidence of vehicular movement and a large encampment,” he said. He said the girls were there for at least four weeks but authorities were ‘powerless’ to intervene adding that the Nigerian government did not ask for help.

“A land-based attack would have been seen coming miles away and the girls killed, an air-based rescue, such as flying in helicopters or Hercules, would have required large numbers and meant a significant risk to the rescuers and even more so to the girls.’

He reiterated that they might have rescued a few but many would have been killed in the process. He explained that his personal fear was always about the girls, adding that 80 were at the spot, but 250 were taken.

Pocock told the Sunday Times Magazine that the information was passed to the Nigerian government but it made no request for help.

The terrorists group, Boko Haram had stormed a secondary boarding school in the remote town of Chibok in Borno state, northern Nigeria on April, 14 2014 and abducted 200 girls who were preparing for their final-year exams.

Although 57 of the girls have managed to escape, the rest have remained missing and have not been heard from or seen since then.

Meanwhile, the pressure group Bring Back Our Girls, are counting down to the two year anniversary since the girls were abducted.

#BBOGCountDownTo2Years 24 days to 2 years of abduction #BringBackOurGirls NOW & ALIVE! pic.twitter.com/ANv1QshQ5E

— #BringBackOurGirls (@BBOG_Nigeria) March 20, 2016