FG to swap more Boko Haram terrorists for Chibok girls

The Federal Government has said that negotiations with the Boko Haram terrorists are in top gear.

This is with a view to free more of its captured fighters in return for the freedom of more Chibok schoolgirls

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Aisha Alhassan who stated this in Abuja, added that the recently released 82 girls were undergoing rehabilitation and reintegration in medical facilities in Abuja.

She said, “Negotiations are ongoing to exchange the remaining girls with Boko Haram detainees. We can’t afford to keep them any longer.”

According to Alhassan, some of the released Chibok schoolgirls would need surgery for various ailments.

“The 82 Chibok girls are currently undergoing medical screening in Abuja. Some of them need surgery; this should be completed in two to three weeks,” she said, adding that before the arrival of the 82 girls, the Federal Government had been taking care of the 21 previously released girls and four babies.

The minister decried insinuations in some quarters that the Federal Government has been shielding the parents and the media from having access to the girls.

“Most of them were having nightmares some days after they were released. We need to keep them away from the media for some time to avoid some questions that they might be asking them, we are not keeping or hiding them

“We are not shielding the girls from their parents. The parents of the recently released 82 girls have already been contacted and they will be in Abuja any moment from now. Most of them live in villages very far from Chibok, so it will take some time before they can get to Abuja,” she said.

She went further to explain, “The 21 girls initially said they won’t like to go back to school in Chibok but after the various rehabilitation and reintegration process they have gone through, they are now set to return to school in September; they are now fit and eager to go back to school.

“The girls have gone through a lot of reintegration process that will make them fit to return to school. They are now medically fit, they have gone through various vocational skills, including ICT training; their parents are always in touch with them.

“I always take them to movies and parks during weekend. They are now fit to return home but we must ensure that they forget all the traumatic experience they passed through while in the bush before they can go back to Chibok.”

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