Buhari Says Boko Haram Demands Release Of Its Bomb Maker In Exchange For Chibok Girls

Government officials have met with
the leaders of Boko Haram sect for
talks on freedom for the abducted
Chibok girls, President Muhammadu
Buhari yesterday said in France.
However, he added that apart from ensuring
that it negotiates with genuine leaders of the
sect, the government rejected the condition
given to it by the sect to proceed with the
negotiations.
The condition is for the release from custody
of the main suspect behind the production of
Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs).
The President, who was rounding off his state
visit to France, spoke during a meeting with
the Nigerian community, who met with him
under the auspices of Nigerians In the
Diaspora Organisation (NIDO)
Buhari said: “The issue of Chibok girls has
occupied our minds and because of the
international attention it drew and the
sympathy throughout the country and the
world, the government is negotiating with
some of Boko Haram’s leadership.
“It is a very sensitive development in the
sense that first we have to establish who are
the genuine leaders of the Boko Haram. That
is number one. Number two, what are their
terms? The first impression we had was not
very encouraging,” he said
He said: “They wanted us to release one of
their leaders who is a strategic person in
developing and making IEDs which have been
causing a lot of havoc in the country by
blowing up people in churches, mosques,
marketplaces, motor parks and other places.
“But it is very important that if we are going
to talk to anybody, we have to know how
much he is worth.
“Let them bring all the girls and then, we will
be prepared to negotiate. I will allow them to
come back to Nigeria or to be absorbed into
the community. We have to be very careful;
the concern we have for the Chibok girls, one
only imagine if they got a daughter there
between 14 and 18 years and for more than
one and a half years, a lot of the parents who
have died would rather see the graves of their
daughters rather the condition they imagine
they were in.
“This has drawn a lot of sympathy
throughout the world; that is why this
government is getting very hard in
negotiating and getting the balance of those
who are alive.”
Buhari assured the Nigerians that his
administration was doing everything to
improve on the state of the economy through
provision of infrastructure in critical areas.