Why military can’t swap terrorists for Chibok girls

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonishakin, said, yesterday, that the business of swapping abducted Chibok schoolgirls for Boko Haram insurgents was not that of the military, vowing that operations against the sect would continue....


The defence chief’s declaration came against the backdrop of the sect’s demand in a new video, Sunday, that the federal government swapped its members detained at detention centres across the country for the girls, who had been kidnapped since April 14, 2014.It also vowed that the over 200 girls would not be released until the federal government set free its fighters held in Lagos, Maiduguri, Abuja and other parts of the country.

This development came as the three persons declared wanted by the military, in connection with the new Boko Haram video, yesterday, said they were ready to make themselves available.

General Olonishakin, who spoke at a meeting with service chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the decision to swap the girls for the sect members was a political one which was not the business of the military.

“The military decision is that we are going ahead with our operations. The operation is being conducted appropriately,” he said.

He also denied that the military had turned away any of the three persons it declared wanted on Sunday on allegation of having ties to the sect, saying “nobody reported to my men and was turned back.”

Olonishakin said the military was still analysing the video released by the sect and would make appropriate comments at the right time.

Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, who also spoke at the Villa, yesterday, said the government was in talks with the Boko Haram sect for the release of the girls.
He said the government was careful to ensure it was speaking with the right group as the sect had been factionalised.

“The government’s position is clear, that we are in touch with them. We are just being careful and cautious to ensure that we are talking to the right people, especially with the news that there is a split in the leadership. But what is important is the safety and security of these girls,” Mohammed said.

On the planned march by the BringBackOurGirls to Aso Rock presidential villa, the minister said the government appreciated the group’s commitment to the return of the girls but noted that a few things needed to be done behind the scene.

He said: What we are saying is that the government is committed to do everything to rescue these girls.

“We are engaging them. By saying we are talking to them, I am talking from a point of knowledge. It does not matter what other people say. I know that the government is in touch with the group.”

He said the government had not relented on efforts to find and recover the girls.

“For us, it is not just because of the release of the video but because of our belief that there will be no final closure to Boko Haram until we are able to resolve the issue of these girls,” the minister said.