Ebun Francis
The minister for information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the federal government did not swap the released 21 Chibok schoolgirls with Boko Haram prisoners. The minister disclosed this at a press conference earlier today.
According to the minister the government had already assembled a team of medical doctors, social workers and psychologists to examine the girls who are expected in the federal capital territory (FCT) later 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,” he said.
“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.”
Mohammed said that the release of the girls was secured through “confidence building” with Boko Haram and added that The President 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 the question of what the government gave in release of the students persisted, Mohammed maintained 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.
