Alhaji Lai MuhammedThe minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that the existence of different factions in the current Boko Haram formation has been one of the reasons why the remaining abducted Chibok Girls are still in captivity.
This was even as he said that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is working with Swiss partners and others on daily basis to make sure that the girls’ whereabouts are found and that they are eventually freed.
The Minister who spoke today, Tuesday at a news briefing at the Department of African Studies, Georgetown University, Washington DC, said that some of the negotiations with Boko Haram for the release of the girls are ‘delicate,’ due largely to the fact that it takes a lot of time and there is a sort of factionalisation within the terrorist group.
The minister, who engaged members and students of the department on the development in the country, said that government has never one day forgotten or closed the case of the abducted girls.
“Few days ago was the fifth anniversary of the abducted girls and that means they were kidnapped more than a year before President Muhammadu Buhari administration came into power.
“It was the engagement of this government that led to the release of 107 of the girls and what I can assure you is that the government is still engaging in trying to find out where the girls are and what has become of them.
“However, some of these negotiations are very delicate due largely to the fact that it takes a lot of time and there is a sort of factionalisation within the terrorist group.
“We are still working with our Swiss partners and the others everyday so that we can be able to track where these girls are, what have become of them and how many are left.
“However, these are not something you can disclose, anyhow because of the sensitivity.”
Responding to question on the reintegration and sponsorship of the girls, the minister said that going by the experiences of the 107 girls that were released, government took responsibilities for their reintegration and got them all back to schools.
He said that recently, there were media reports about the bright performances of some of the girls in their respective fields.
