Ebun FrancisSome of the 82 Chibok girls released by the Boko Haram insurgents last Saturday will need to undergo surgery for various ailments, the Federal government said on Thursday.
The minister of Women affairs, Hajiya Jumai Alhassan made the disclosure at a press conference where she explained that the girls were currently undergoing medical evaluations that will take weeks to conclude.
“The 82 Chibok girls are currently undergoing medical screening in Abuja. Some of them need surgery; this should be completed in two to three weeks,” she said.
The minister also explained that before the release of the latest batch of the 82 girls, the federal Government had been taking care of the 21 girls released last year.
She stated that the girls were in a very bad shape medically when they were released and spent two months at a medical facility before they were handed over to her in December 2016.
Alhassan also dispelled the rumours that the released girls were prevented from reuniting with their parents, stating that the girls were scared of returning to Chibok.
The minister said that those spreading the rumour were not the real parents of the girls but members of the Chibok the Chibok community.
She said, “We had a meeting with the parents of the 21 girls and the girls themselves and they all asked the Federal Government to send them to school and take care of them. Most of them are scared of returning to Chibok because of their experiences.
“But to show you that parents have access to their daughters, some parents just left the facility where the girls were kept three weeks ago after visiting the girls. One of the girls, who is married, is at present in Chibok, visiting the town with her husband and his family”.
On the 82 recently released girls, the minister said their photographs had been sent to families in Chibok for identification.
She stated, “The people complaining that they are not allowed to see the 21 Chibok girls are not their biological parents or guardians.
“Reports that we are preventing parents from seeing them are absolutely not true. The parents visit from time to time.
“We are very careful who we grant access to the girls. We will only grant access to their parents, not community members.”
The minister restated that the government would ensure the release of the no fewer than 113 of the schoolgirls still with the terrorists through negotiations or exchanging the girls with detained Boko Haram members.
She stated, “Negotiations are ongoing to exchange the remaining girls with Boko Haram detainees, we can’t afford to keep them any longer.
“We have no apologies or regrets whatsoever for exchanging Boko Haram detainees for our daughters. We’ll do it again if needed.”