We Didn’t Swap The Chibok Girls With Boko Haram Prisoners -FG

MICHAEL AKINOLA with agency reports

Some of the girls this morning with their babies

The federal government said it didn’t swapped the released 21 Chibok schoolgirls with Boko Haram prisoners.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, said this at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

‎Mohammed said that the government had assembled a team of medical doctors, social workers and psychologists to examine the girls when they arrive in Abuja.

He disclosed that they would be in the federal capital territory (FCT) on Thursday afternoon.

“We can confirm that 21 Chibok schoolgirls were release at 5:30am today, and flown to Kaduna. We expect them to arrive in Abuja soon. We have the names of the girls and we are now contacting their parents. As soon as that is done, we will release their names,” Mohammed said.

The minister emphasi‎sed that the release of the schoolgirls was not secured by a prisoner-swap deal with Boko Haram.

“Please note that this is not a swap, but a release,” he said.

“The release of these girls does not mean an end to military operations, but it is a new phase in the war against insurgency‎.”

He said that the release of the girls was secured through “confidence building” with Boko Haram.

Mohammed added that President Muhammadu Buhari was ready to do all he could to bring the insurgency to an end.

“Mr President has made it clear that whatever he can do to bring the insurgency under control he will do it,” he said.

When asked what the government gave in return for the girls‎, Mohammed insisted that nothing was given in exchange for them.

“People want to believe bad news than good news. The girls were released, there was no swap,”‎ he said.

There were unconfirmed reports that the girls were swapped for four Boko Haram insurgents. Names of those militants were not released.

It was gathered that the Boko Haram has demanded the release of its members held by the government, as condition for freeing the girls. But the reports had it that the FG swapped the four militants flown in a chopper to Banki, a border town in Bama local government area of Borno State, in exchange for the girls on Wednesday night with some Nigerian military officials, alongside personnel of United Nations, Red Cross and National Emergency Management Agency, present.

There, 21 released girls were picked up and brought into Maiduguri Air Force base at about 8.30 a.m and immediately flown to Abuja at 9 a.m.

A source said most of the girls had babies.

The girls –nearly 300 – were abducted by the extremist sect Boko Haram on April 14, 2014, from a secondary school in Chibok.

Some 50 of the girls managed to escape and about 218 of them are still missing.

Previous efforts to free the girls were not successful. But the latest success came after the intervention of the Red Cross and the Swiss government.

“The release of the girls, in a limited number is the outcome of negotiations between the administration and the Boko Haram brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government,” a statement issued by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said.

He said the talks will continue.