*Says one of the 21 girls has a baby
*Remaining girls will be released in weeks ahead
Vice president Yemi Osinbajo Thursday night said that the release
of 21 chibok girls was a product of systematic negotiations which had nothing to do with exchange of any kind with some detained Boko haram commanders.
Speculations had been rife that at least 4 detained Boko haram
commanders were swapped with the girls.
Addressing state House correspondents after a visit to the Department
of State Security, DSS medical facility, Abuja where the girls were currently
undergoing education check-ups, Osinbajo who was visibly excited said that girls
were in good health considering the circumstances they had been into, stating
that only one of the girls had a baby.
Osinbajo during the visit to the facility prayed for the girls who
later took attendance.
The Vice President who was joined at the briefing by Minister of
Information, Alhaji Lai mohammed, Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Al-Hassan,
minister of state for budget, Zainab Ahmed the Director-General of DSS, Mallam
Lawal Daura amongst other officials said that government would also use the same
methodology to secure the release of the remaining girls.
He also stated that the Swiss government was fully involved in the
negotiation process while Red Cross provided medical assistance.
He said: "We should congratulate ourselves and thank the almighty God
for the release and subsequent returning home of 21 of the chibok girls who were
taken almost 2 years ago. It is an exciting news for the whole country. Everyone
is really excited and I believe that we should be very thankful to
God.
"I also want to thank the military and all the security services,
DSS, Intelligence services across the county as well as our friends and
partners, internationally who have also helped in bringing happy ending of
captivity of at least 21 of the chibok girls.
"About an hour ago, I met with the 21 chibok girls who have been
brought back and they are in good health considering the circumstances they have
been held in and they are now being well taken care of in the medical facility.
They will be staying there for sometime until we are satisfied about their
health condition. Their parents will be coming to join them hopefully by tomorrow.
"There will be therapy, there will be counseling. Of course, we can
imagine what they have gone through. So, we expect that a lot of psychological
therapy and so much needs to be done to get them back. One of the 21 girls has a
baby. She is the only one.
Any swap deal?
"There was no exchange of any kind. There was no swap of any kind.
Even when we started negotiations, we said we will consider all options
available to us. Absolutely, there was no exchange of any kind.
Future swap deal for remaining girls?
"We must be sensitive to the fact that the government wants this
girls back and alive, again, we must balance it against the security and safety
of the country. In the process of negotiation, we will look at all options and
we will weigh the options carefully and decide on what to do. But what has
happened and the process we have begun is one which has not involved any type of
swap of Boko haram commanders or any militant in any way. That is a very good
turn of event. We believe that in the next few days and months, we will be
bringing in more of these girls using exactly the same kind of
negotiation and the same template that we used.
Red Cross was involvement
"The Swiss government worked with us in the process of negotiation
but the Red Cross is not involved in the negotiation but in taking the girls
back, of course, we worked with the Red Cross because we were unable to take our
own medical team. The Red Cross was not involved at all in the process of
negotiation. It was the Swiss government, our own officials: the DSS,
intelligence and the military that were involved."
Meanwhile, here are at the names of the girls as posted on the
official Twitter handle of the Office of Digital Engagement in the
Presidency.
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