Authorities in Cameroon on Monday poured doubt on a would-be suicide bomber’s claim that she is one of the chibok girls.
“We don’t think that she was one of
the girls (kidnapped) from Chibok,” citing inconsistencies over her apparent
age.
The girl in question is one of two
would-be suicide bombers arrested in northern Cameroon on Friday wearing
12-kilogramme (26-pound) explosives belts.
Less than a month before the second
anniversary of the brazen kidnapping which shook the world, 219 students from
the northern Nigerian town are still missing.
“The girl was found to be heavily
drugged and bore several injuries on her body. The girl’s health condition had
delayed her movement to the far north regional capital of Cameroon, Maroua, as
earlier planned,” the presidency said.
“Pictures of the arrested suspected
bomber obtained by Nigerian officials indicated that the girl was likely a
minor, between ages nine to 12 years,” the statement added.
The “Bring Back Our Girls” advocacy
group said that the youngest of those kidnapped in 2014 was 16 years old at the
time.
The Nigerian presidency continued:
“Considering the well-known guidelines regarding the publication of photography
of minors, we have decided to forward the pictures of the suspected bomber to
the Murtala Muhammed Foundation (a non-profit) for verification by interested Chibok
community stakeholders.”
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