13th October, 2016
The schoolgirls were released Thursday morning following a negotiation between the Federal Government and Boko Haram brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss Government.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this afternoon that the team was assembled to properly examine the girls because they have been in captivity for so long.
The minister disclosed that upon release, the schoolgirls were flown to Kaduna from the location of their release.
”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,” Alhaji Mohammed stated.
He described the release of the girls as 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,” he added.
Speaking on how the schoolgirls were released, Alhaji Mohammed stated: ”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.
”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.
”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.
”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.