said that the Federal Government had begun
negotiations with members of the Boko Haram
sect to secure the release of the Chibok girls.
The President disclosed this while responding
to questions from members of the Nigerian
community in France under the aegis of the
Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation.
Buhari said that he was worried by the
continued stay of the girls in the camps of
Boko Haram since April 14, 2014 when they
were abducted by Boko Haram fighters.
The President noted that the incident had
attracted global attention and sympathy
within Nigeria, adding that his government
could not fold its arms.
“The issue of Chibok girls has occupied our
minds and because of the international
attention it drew and the sympathy
throughout the the world. The government is
negotiating with some of the Boko Haram
leadership,” he stated.
According to him, government has to first
establish genuine members of the sect so that
it will not make the mistake of engaging the
wrong persons.
Buhari said, “It is a very sensitive development
in the sense that first we have to establish
whether they genuine leaders of Boko Haram?
That is number one. Number two, what are
their terms, the first impression we had was
not very encouraging.”
The President said one of the conditions given
by Boko Haram sect was to release one of its
members who was developing Improvised
Explosives Devices.
He, however, said that his government rejected
the demand.
Buhari stated, “They wanted us to release one
of their leaders who is a strategic person in
developing and making IEDs that is causing a
lot of havoc in the country by blowing people
in churches, mosques, market places, motor
parks and other places. But it is very
important that if we are going to talk to
anybody, we have to know how much he is
worth.
“Let them bring all the girls and then, we will
be prepared to negotiate, I will allow them to
come back to Nigeria or to be absorbed into
the community. We have to be very careful,
the concern we have for the Chibok girls, one
can only imagine having a daughter who is
between 14 and 18 years there for more than
one and a half years. A lot of the parents who
have died would have preferred to see the
graves of their daughters to the condition they
imagined they were in.”
According to him, the kidnap of the girls has
drawn a lot of sympathy throughout the
world. This, he said, was the reason
government was negotiating for the release of
the girls.
President Buhari assured Nigerians in the
Diaspora that his administration was doing
everything possible to improve the economy
through provision of infrastructure in critical
sectors.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media
and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, had in July
confirmed the willingness of the Federal
Government to negotiate with the sect.
Adesina, who lamented that the insurgents,
killed many people, said the Federal
Government would not rule out negotiations
with the sect, if it would lead to the end of
terrorism.
The Nigerian Army spokesman Col. Sani
Usman, a few days ago, said that members of
the terror group were surrendering “en masse.
Source: PUNCH NEWS
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