President Muhammadu Buhari has signalled his administration’s readiness to negotiate the release of the over 200 girls abducted Chibok school girls, including exchanging them with Boko Haram detainees.
He however said his government would only talk with authentic leaders of the sect leaders, who are free to contact the Federal Government through internationally-recognised Non-Governmental Organisation.
A statement today by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Buhari made this known as he granted press interview on the sidelines of the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development holding in Nairobi, Kenya.
The President said: “I have made a couple of comments on the Chibok girls and it seems to me that much of it has been politicised.
“What we said is that the government which I preside over is prepared to talk to bona fide leaders of Boko Haram.
“If they do not want to talk to us directly, let them pick an internationally recognised Non-Governmental Organisation, convince them that they are holding the girls and that they want Nigeria to release a number of Boko Haram leaders in detention, which they are supposed to know.
“If they do it through the ‘modified leadership’ of Boko Haram and they talk with an internationally recognised NGO, then Nigeria will be prepared to discuss for their release.”
Buhari nonetheless made it clear that his administration would not waste time and resources in engaging “doubtful sources” who claim to know the whereabouts of the girls.
“We want those girls out and safe. The faster we can recover them and hand them over to their parents, the better for us,” he said.
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