Speaking on Friday at a forum organized by Partners West Africa-Nigeria on prioritising the voices of women in security organisations based on National Action Plan on Women (2017-2020), Robertson revealed his team was monitoring the situation closely.

The General Advisor, British Military Advisory and Training Team (BMATT) in Nigeria, Major Ian Robertson, has said they would be willing to assist in the rescue of students from Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Dapchi in Yobe State, who were reportedly abducted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.

He also expressed worries that schoolgirls have become soft targets for insurgents.

“Having heard about this particular issue recently, I am still trying to get more information about what is going on, but it is clearly very disappointing that something like this has happened, that the girls have been taken.

“But let me reassure you, from the British military perspective, that we are monitoring the event quite closely and we are cooperating with the armed forces of Nigeria to see how we can assist,” Robertson said.