Exchange of Chibok Girls

ICC Note: The Nigerian Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to rescuing the Chibok girls from Boko Haram by revealing that they have already made three attempts to exchange the abducted girls with jailed members of the terrorist group. According to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on two of the attempts the Boko Haram fighters failed to arrive to the agreed place and time for the exchange. However, the government is still committed to securing the release of the girls and willing to dialogue again with the terrorist group to come to an agreement. Boko Haram’s new leader has vowed to persecute Christians and bomb churches as part of their jihad. Several attacks have been reported in the last few weeks where the terrorist group has attacked Christian villages near the Chibok town and killed many victims.

10/3/2016, Nigeria (All Africa) – The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has reiterated the federal government’s commitment to rescuing the abducted Chibok girls from Boko Haram terrorists, revealing that the present administration on three occasions established links with Boko Haram for the exchange of the abducted girls with the arrested members of the terrorist group.

The minister’s revelation of past attempts to negotiate the release of the girls by the Muhammadu Buhari administration confirmed THISDAY’s exclusive report last August that the federal government had made at least two attempts to secure the release of the kidnapped girls through a prisoner-swap deal, but both attempts failed when no member of the sect or the girls turned up at the appointed place for the exchange.

The information minister spoke Saturday night on a live programme on Channels Television commemorating Nigeria’s Independence titled: “Nigeria at 56: Recursive, Resilient, Rising”, which coincided with 901 days since the abduction of over 200 secondary schoolgirls from their school in Chibok, Borno State.

Mohammed stressed that no group, local or international, could claim to have more at stake or was more committed to the rescue of the girls than the federal government.

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