President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the Federal Government is encouraging intermediaries who have offered to persuade the Boko Haram terrorist group to release over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in Chibok, Borno State, in April this year.
The President gave this indication while speaking in an interview with the Washington Times in Washington USA where he is attending an African Leaders Summit convened by US President Barrak Obama.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, a copy which was made available to our correspondent in Abuja on Wednesday, said while appreciating the support of the international community in the ongoing rescue efforts of the Chibok girls, the President explained that government considered the safety of the girls as very paramount hence the adoption of several methods in the operation.
While describing a strict military approach to the rescue effort as ‘delicate’, the statement quoted President Jonathan as saying “If it is to risk a few dead bodies, it is easier. You can blast the place and carry the corpses. But is that what we have to do? So it is delicate”
The President insisted that the Federal Government has information on the location of the kidnapped girls but was being mindful of the consequences of invading the location to avoid a repeat of an episode in February 2013 in which an offshoot of Boko Haram killed seven foreign hostages in northern Nigeria before authorities could rescue them.
“They are ready to die,” he added about the Islamist militant group. “So when you are dealing with that scenario, it is very different from the ordinary kidnapping by criminals or people who don’t want to die. So it is very, very delicate.”
This, according to the President, was why the dialogue option is not being ruled out. “We have set up a committee, what I call a dialogue committee on the security challenge we have in the north, even before the kidnapping of the Chibok girls.
“We have a team. And we encourage people to assist them. We do negotiate,” he said. “Quite a number of people have come with different information. We encourage them. But none of them has yielded any results yet”
The President expressed government commitment to winning the war against terrorism in Northern Nigerian as well as rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed by insurgents and called on all leaders of thought in the region to co-operate with the Federal Government and assist security agencies with necessary information to accomplish their mission of securing lives and property of citizens in the area. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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