Boko Haram reportedly demanded from the Federal Government
€5billion (about N1,706,850,000,000) to free 219 Chibok girls .
These facts are contained in the book, “Muhammadu Buhari:
The challenges of leadership in Nigeria”, authored by Prof. John Paden.
The book, which was presented to the public on Monday at the
International Conference Centre in Abuja, contained some unknown issues about
the President including the insider’s account on the botched negotiation between Boko
Haram and the Federal Government .
“An additional
issue was the status of the Chibok girls. Secret negotiations had been held
regarding an exchange of Boko Haram prisoners for the girls.
“On several
occasions, prisoners were taken to Maiduguri to facilitate an exchange. But
these negotiations stalled when Boko Haram demanded a ransom of €5billion for
the girls.
“The dilemma for
the DSS, which was handling the negotiations, was that a military assault to
rescue the girls would almost certainly result in their deaths at the hands of
their Boko Haram captors.
“But the Nigerian government was not going to accede
to Boko Haram’s extra-ordinary demand for a vast sum of money which would no
doubt be used to fund future attacks.“One or two girls were able to escape their
captors in May, but the rest remained captive and the impasse continued
“The Chibok girls
were not alone in their grim fate. Hundreds if not thousands, of persons had
been captured by Boko Haram in the North-East. Buhari would need to continue
degrading Boko Haram until he could tighten the noose around its Sambisa
hideouts and bring a close end to this painful episode.”
The Nation
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