Kaduna (Nigeria) — Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed, has stressed that there was no Boko Haram member given in exchange for the 21 Chibok girls released on Thursday.
Mohammed made this known while briefing newsmen in Abuja. He noted that the girls were released around 5:30 a.m.
The 21 Chibok girls are said to be part of the over 200 Chibok school girls abducted by Boko Haram in April 14, 2014 in Chibok Community, Bornu state, North Eastern Nigeria.
He said, “Please note that this is not a swap. It is a release, the product of painstaking negotiations and trust on both sides.
“We see this as a credible first step in the eventual release of all the Chibok girls in captivity.”
The Minister further pointed that, “Ahead of their arrival, we have assembled a team of medical doctors, psychologists, social workers, trauma experts, among others to properly examine the girls, especially because they have been in captivity for so long.”
He also said after some verification, names of the released girls would be made known to the public.
Earlier before the Minister’s briefing, Spokesman of the President Garba Shehu, said, “Release of the girls, in a limited number, is the outcome of negotiations between the administration and the Boko Haram, brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government.”
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