Ahmad Salkida, a journalist known to have access to the leadership of Boko Haram, says only 15 of the yet to be released 113 Chibok schoolgirls are alive.
Salkida, who announced this on his Twitter handle, said many of the girls have died as a result of crossfires from security forces that were supposed to rescue them.
It is exactly four years since 276 girls were abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno state.
While 163 have returned, 113 of the girls are believed to be in the custody of the sect.
But Salkida said those of the girls still alive are no longer under the control of Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram.
According to him, they have been married off, adding that their fate and can only be determined by their husbands.
He explained that no negotiation, including ransom, could secure their release, except they are divorced from their husbands.
“Today, my painstaking investigations on the #Chibokschoolgirls revealed that just a handful of the 113 #ChibokGirls are alive,” Salkida said.
“Many of the girls have died as a result of cross fires and bombardments of the security forces that no doubt were intent on rescuing them. I regret to state here that only 15 out of the 113 #Chibokgirls are alive today, based on my investigations in the last three months
“What is the status of the remaining 15 girls as far as negotiations are concerned? My investigations also revealed that, they are no longer under the control of #AbubakarShekau. According to sources, they are now ‘married’ and only their ‘husbands’ can decide their fates.
“If they are divorced or the men are killed that is when Shekau’s decision takes precedence, and in this instance, since the girls have been indoctrinated, their leader has no right to negotiate for their release, no matter the ransom offered, reliable multiple sources said.
“The way out for these girls, is a military rescue or negotiate wt individual captors to release their ‘wives’ in return for some kind of deal, but this will mean death to these fighters bcz the terror group now sees the girls as part of their own and must be protected.”
Salkida said it is “unbearable” to release the names of the 15 girls, adding that it is the responsibility of the government to do so.
He asked the government to prove his claims wrong or stop negotiating the release of girls “that don’t exist”.
“It will be unbearable to share the names of the 15 that are alive here, this is the responsibility of Govt,” he said.
“When I was involved I regularly provided proof of life. Govt must demand that to prove me wrong or stop negotiating for many of the girls that don’t exist.
“My heartfelt condolences to the parents of the near 100 that have perished or have not returned home and apparently not with their captors. But you must always remember that your daughters were stronger than the rest of us that couldn’t do more to avert this catastrophe.”
