The Federal Government has expressed the hope that the release of 21 of the over 200 Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram will be the first step to the release of the others.
The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed stated this in Abuja on Thursday at a World press conference to announce the release of the 21 girls.
Below is the full text of the conference.
TEXT OF A WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE MINISTER OF
INFORMATION AND CULTURE, ALHAJI LAI MOHAMMED, ON THE RELEASE OF 21
CHIBOK GIRLS, ON THURSDAY, OCT. 13TH 2016, AT THE OBASANJO HALL,
FEDERAL SECRETARIAT, ABUJA.
Gentlemen of the press, good afternoon. We have called this press
conference at a very short notice to brief you on the latest
development in the saga of the abducted Chibok Girls.
2. We can confirm that 21 of the girls were released, safely, to us
by 5.30 this Thursday morning and they were flown to Kaduna from the
location of their release. This is the most glaring manifestation to
date of the unwavering commitment of Mr. President to secure the safe
release of the girls and reunite them with their families. It is also
a result of the round-the-clock efforts by the Administration to put a
closure to the sad issue of the kidnap of the girls.
3. We expect the released girls to land in Abuja shortly. Ahead of
their arrival,
we have assembled a team of medical doctors, psychologists, social
workers, trauma experts,
etc to properly examine the girls, especially because they have been
in captivity for
so long. They will also be adequately debriefed. We have the list of
the 21 girls but we
are now contacting their parents as part of the necessary verification exercise.
As soon as that is concluded, we will release the names to the public.
4. Gentlemen, as we have always said, we have been working on the
safe release of the girls and following all the leads available. In
this instance, the moment we had a credible lead, Mr President gave
the green-light to the DSS to pursue it. We can confirm that the DSS
pursued the lead in collaboration with a friendly European country and
a renowned international humanitarian organization. The DSS was
supported by the military.
5. As soon as the necessary confidence was built on both sides, the
parties agreed on the date and the location of the release of the 21
girls. Please note that this is not a swap. It is a release, the
product of painstaking negotiations and trust on both sides.
6. We see this as a credible first step in the eventual release of
all the Chibok Girls in captivity. It is also a major step in
confidence-building between us as a government and the Boko Haram
leadership on the issue of the Chibok Girls.
7. We want to thank all Nigerians for their support and for never
losing confidence in the ability of Mr. President to secure the safe
release of our Chibok Girls.
8. Gentlemen of the press, I thank you all for your kind attention
