Nigeria’s vice-president Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has disclosed to journalists that the Federal Government did not swap any Boko Haram detainee for the release of the 21 Chibok girls. Osinbajo also said of the 21 girls released yesterday, only one has a baby. Osinbajo made this known on Thursday evening when he led some top government officials to visit the girls at the DSS Medical Centre, Airport Road, Abuja, where they are currently receiving medical attention.
In his words, Osinbajo said, “There was no exchange of any kind. There was no swap of any kind. Even when we started negotiations, we said we would consider all options available to us. Absolutely, there was no exchange of any kind. We must be sensitive to the fact that the government wants these girls back and alive. Again, we must balance this against the security and safety of the country. In the process of negotiation, we will look at all options and we will weigh the options carefully and decide what to do.
“But what has happened and the process we have begun is one which has not involved any type of swap of Boko Haram commanders or any militant in any way. That is a very good turn of event. We believe that in the next few days and months, we will be bringing in more of these girls using exactly the same kind of negotiation and the same template that we used. The Swiss government worked with us in the process of negotiation, but the Red Cross is not involved in the negotiation. But in taking the girls back, of course, we worked with the Red Cross because we were unable to take our own medical team. The Red Cross was not involved at all in the process of negotiation. It was the Swiss government, our own officials such as the DSS, intelligence and the military.”
