More Chibok Girls are expected to regain their freedom soon as negotiations between representatives of the Federal Government and leaders of the Boko Haram sect resume today.
The nation is still in a jubilant mood since 21 of the Chibok Girls, abducted 30 months ago, were freed by the Boko Haram insurgents last week.
“Another batch, bigger than the present batch, is expected to be released very soon,” the Information Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced cheerfully in Abuja yesterday.
A special church service was held in Abuja yesterday to mark the joyous occasion of the release of the Chibok Girls – an event at which some of the girls danced happily with their parents, friends and relations.
Some media reports indicate that of the remaining 197 Chibok Girls, only 83 are likely to be released any time soon.
The rest of the girls, totalling 114, cannot be accounted for because they have either died, been married off or have become radicalised and do not want to leave their Boko Haram kidnappers – according to the Cable News Network (CNN).
Quoting sources close to the negotiators, the CNN said that only 83 will be negotiated for when Nigeria resumes talks for their release.
The global news medium said that if the sources are correct about the number of dead or otherwise unavailable, that would mean more than 40 percent of those who were kidnapped in 2014 stand no chance of being brought home alive or no obvious immediate chance of being retrieved through negotiation.
The Chibok Girls, numbering 276, were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in Chibok town in Borno State on April 14, 2014, from their hostels in the Government Girls Secondary School in the area.
Last Thursday, 21 of the girls were handed over to the Federal Government after what it described as painstaking negotiations with Boko Haram.
After their abduction, 57 of the girls had escaped from their captors while one, Aisha Ali, was rescued in May this year by the military and vigilantes in Borno State.
While the Federal Government said Boko Haram released the 21 girls as a result of negotiations brokered by the Swiss government and the International Committee of the Red Cross, it hasn’t said what the militant group may have received in return.
Two sources close to the negotiations told CNN that Boko Haram received money as part of the deal. The sources did not disclose the amount.
The government has not publicly and specifically addressed the issue of money. Last Thursday, Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, told reporters that the girls’ freedom “was not a swap. It is a release, the product of painstaking negotiations and trust on both sides”.
There was conflicting information about whether captured Boko Haram fighters were released as part of the deal.
The Federal Government has said there was no prisoner exchange. Two sources close to the negotiations also said no Boko Haram prisoner was released.
However, one source close to the talks said “a number of Boko Haram commanders” regained freedom as part of the deal to release the 21 Chibok schoolgirls.
FG cautions against dangerous comments on remaining Chibok girls
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has appealed to Nigerians to refrain from making statements which can hamper the release of the remaining Chibok girls.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Minister of Information and Culture, through his media aide, Segun Adeyemi, Mohammed accused some Nigerians of making reckless analysis and commentaries which are not helping the situation.
“We still have many of our children in captivity. Therefore, we have to be careful with the kind of comments that we make. We must not make comments that will make the release of these girls difficult or impossible,” the statement said.
The minister made the appeal on Sunday in Abuja at the special thanksgiving church service and reunion of the 21 girls with their families.
Mohammed, who quoted from the Bible (“Those who are with us are more than those who are with them”), said those who doubted the sincerity and commitment of the present administration to the safe release and the reunion of the abducted Chibok girls with their parents were disappointed.
“When the President said that the Boko Haram saga will not be closed until all the abducted girls have been released and reunited with their families safely, those who doubted did not believe us so we thank God that this day has come,” he said.
The minister also appealed to the parents of the girls who are yet to be freed to continue to exercise patience with the government, saying that “this is the beginning and we are very optimistic that very soon another batch bigger than this will be released. I want to assure you that these negotiations are ongoing even as we speak.”
The Chairman of the Parents of the Abducted Chibok Schoolgirls, Yakubu Nkeki, appealed to the people to stop spreading rumours, particularly on the social media, that will put the lives of the girls at risk.
He debunked some reports alleging that 18 of the 21 freed girls are pregnant even as he denied that they were radicalised by Boko Haram members.
In her testimony, the spokesperson of the freed girls, Miss Gloria Dame, who recalled their ordeal in captivity, thanked God and all those who made their safe release and reunion with their families possible.
Miss Dame, who spoke in Hausa, prayed that God will ensure the safe release of the other girls still in captivity.
“We never thought we will ever see this moment but God has made it possible for us. I want to appeal to all of us to fast and pray for the safe release of those left behind,” she said.
The highpoint of the occasion was the reunion between the parents and their daughters.
Tears flowed freely as the parents took turns to identify their daughters, while one woman simply carried her daughter on her back in joy.
