Controversy Trails the Release of 82 Chibok Girls

On Saturday Boko Haram militants released 82 Chibok girls out of about 276 students who were abducted from their dormitories, in April 2014, in exchange for the suspected Boko Haram terrorists being held by the government.

According to Punch, the girls, were released to international negotiators who have been working in collaboration with the Federal government for their safe return since their kidnap.

The state house press release signed by Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, reads:

”President Muhammadu Buhari is pleased to announce that negotiations to release more of the #ChibokGirls have yielded results. Today, 82 more #ChibokGirls were released.

After lengthy negotiations, our security agencies have taken back these girls, in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities. The released #ChibokGirls are due to arrive in Abuja tomorrow Sunday May 7, and will be received by the President.

President Muhammadu Buhari expresses his deep gratitude to all who played a part in ensuring the success of this operation, as follows: Security agencies, the military, the Government of Switzerland, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and local and international NGOs.

The President has repeatedly expressed his total commitment towards ensuring the safe return of the #ChibokGirls, and all other Boko Haram captives. The President has received detailed briefings from the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) at every stage of the negotiations/operation.”

The President, who received the girls in Abuja, on Sunday, said:

”This is a pleasant 2nd anniversary gift to the people of Nigeria. I cannot express in a few words how happy I am to welcome our dear girls back to freedom.

On behalf of all Nigerians, I will like to share my joy with you, your parents, your relatives, friends and Government of Borno State on regaining your freedom.

The Federal Government will like to commend the Security Agencies, the Red Cross, local authorities, local and foreign NGOs and all those who contributed in one way or another to secure the release of our Chibok Girls.

Let me reassure Nigerians, especially relatives and friends of the remaining girls that the Federal Government will spare no effort to see that they and all other Nigerians who have been abducted safely regain their freedom.

Finally, I am very pleased to have personally met you and let me assure you that the Presidency will personally supervise the performance of those entrusted with your welfare and commitments made by the Federal Government on your health, education, security and general well-being.

No human being should go through this kind of ordeal. The security agencies and state governments should continue to provide special protection to educational institutions vulnerable to this kind of outrage especially in remote areas.

This administration is resolutely determined to safeguard the security of all Nigerians at all times.

Once again, I congratulate you and your parents on your safe return.”

Meanwhile, the “price” reportedly paid for the girl’s freedom seems not to go well with some faction of the government.

Dayo Adeyeye, the National Publicity Secretary of the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), hailed the release of the school girls, saying the capture of the girls by insurgents in 2014 traumatised the entire nation.

According to Adeyeye, the abduction and detention of the girls in the last three years had brought extreme pain and suffering to their families, the country and people of goodwill across the world, Daily Trust gathers.

Expressing concern over the exchange, the party said in statement:

”What is, however, of great concern is the price paid to secure the release of the girls. According to reports, the girls were released in exchange for the release of suspected Boko Haram terrorists being held by the government. If that is the case, we say it’s a heavy price to pay and an unusual one at that.”

The party also said that it did not think that exchanging the innocent girls for hardened criminals like the terrorists was the right approach, adding that the implication of the “exchange’’ was the terrorists had escaped justice.

”By releasing the arrested terrorists, all the efforts made by security agencies to bring them to book have come to nothing and a setback for the war on insurgency. Their release is tantamount to releasing terrorists) to resume their war against society.

Many of them can find their ways back to the terrorists’ camps from where they can unleash terror against the country. Others who are allowed to roam freely in society can become veritable recruiting agents and purveyors of suicide bombing and urban terrorism.”

According to the statement, the terrorists will continue with their tactics believing that they can always use it to blackmail the government to release their members and to extract other concessions, stressing further that the piece-meal release of the girls meant that the terrorists wanted to extract more concessions from the government and at the end, prolong the insurgency.

”The release of the girls will increase the agony and high expectancy of the remaining girls still in custody of the terrorists and their families who will be wondering why they have not been as lucky. It therefore would have been better to ensure the release of all the girls at once.”

In addition, the party said that negotiations were in clear violation of generally accepted international principle of “never negotiate with terrorists”.

”However, we recognize the concern of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the earliest release of the Chibok girls for domestic and international considerations.

Equally, we are very concerned about the safe return of the girls to their families at the earliest possible time, and will continue to disagree that negotiating with the terrorists is the right approach to achieving the objective. Meanwhile, we rejoice with the girls and their families and hope that their remaining colleagues will join them in freedom in no distant future.”

Out of the about 276 school girls kidnapped, Fifty-seven of them escaped while being taken away while three others were found or rescued by the military.

Twenty-one of them were freed on October 13, 2016, after the Swiss government and the International Committee of the Red Cross brokered a deal between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government.

Photo Credit: Presidency