The presidency yesterday officially made a breaking claim, actually twice, regarding the ongoing negotiations aimed at ensuring the release of the Chibok girls.
Recall that presidential adviser Femi Adesina on Tuesday, September 16, tweeted :
“PMB: We are talking with Boko Haram over Chibok girls. But we need to ensure they are genuine leaders, then we negotia.”
After more than 500 days following the abduction, President Muhammadu delivered a sensational statement when he spoke in Paris with members of the Nigerian community in France. According to Vanguard, Buhari disclosed that global attention had triggered negotiation.
President Buhari vowed not to release the developer of the sect’s explosive, which he said was posed as a condition for the girls’ release by insurgents.
“The issue of Chibok girls has occupied our minds and because of the international attention it drew and the sympathy through out the country and the world, the government is negotiating with some of the Boko Haram leadership.”
“It is a very sensitive development in the sense that first we have to establish, are they genuine leaders of the Boko Haram. That is number one. Number two, what are their terms, the first impression we had was not very encouraging.
“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, mosque, market places, motor parks and other places. But 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 absolved in the community. We have to be very careful, the concern we have for the Chibok girls, one only imagine if they got a daughter there between 14 and 18 and for more than one and a half year, a lot of the parents who have died would rather see the graves of their daughters rather the condition they imagine they are in.”
“This has drawn a lot of sympathy though out the world, that is why this government is getting very hard in negotiating and getting the balance of those who are alive.”
Under the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan the terrorists and the government were said to have agreed on the swap of the sect’s key militants for the Chibok girls. There was no official confirmation of the story, however, it was reported that the swap deal had started but failed the very last moment.
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