The Presidency has confirmed that the location of the over 200 students of Government Day Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, abducted on April 14 by Boko Haram terrorists.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, made the confirmation yesterday in an interview with CNN. He thus vindicated Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, who on Monday announced that the Nigerian military had discovered where the girls are being kept by Boko Haram.

The United State of America, which is providing air surveillance and logistics support towards the rescue of the girls, had expressed doubt and displeasure over the revelation by Air Chief Marshall Badeh.

Dismissing the American reaction, a Presidency said it was an attempt to underplay the breakthrough by the Nigerian military, as the US would have preferred to take the credit and not the Nigerian military.

The source, just like Okupe did in the CNN interview, debunked the rumour that President Goodluck Jonathan was angry with the Air Chief Marshall Badeh for reveling that the Nigerian military has discovered the whereabouts of the abducted schoolgirls.

President Jonathan, according to the source, is not unmindful of the effect of the positive development on the morale of the Nigerian military with the headway.

His words: “If the Americans had made the breakthrough, that would have been the end of the Nigerian military and the President, as the Commander-in-Chief, knows that at all times he must show and have confidence in the capacity and competence of his troops.”

The source said that the Jonathan administration has been battling “all kinds of dangerous and unfounded rumours aimed at discrediting and creating confusion within the rank and file of the military.”

Giving an example, he said: “Last week there was a report of a second mutiny in the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri. It took vigorous counter before those behind the falsehood gave up.

“The President is aware that the CDS as the number one military officer owes it to the officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces to defend their professionalism, which of late has been subjected to serious questioning.

“Like you know, there have been doubts about the competence of the Nigerian Armed Forces and unproven allegations of corruption by a section of the Nigerian public and countries like the United States, so the CDS had to do what he did, without giving away anything.”

•Photo shows some of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls as seen in a video recently released by Boko Haram.

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