[Mhiz Rebecca]

The President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari has said he will not
talk about the release of Chibok schoolgirls again. Buhari said the
only time he will talk about the issue is when genuine leaders of
Boko Haram come forward to prove the girls are in their custody .
The president stated this in an interview with the Hausa Service of
the Voice of America during his recent visit to the United States of
America .
“ You should not forget that Boko Haram has killed at least 20, 000
Nigerians . Chibok girls are about 230 or 220. There are some
people who are calling on the government to negotiate with the
captors of these girls.
“ I have addressed this issue three times, and I have no intention of
doing anything again until they come out to identify themselves as
leaders of Boko Haram, and that they are the ones holding these
girls, ” he said .
He further revealed that the only time the government will talk with
the terrorist group is if they “give location of the girls and the
condition of their health , which can also be verified . This is when
negotiation can take place .
“ It is not feasible where one person will come out today to say he
can free three of them and tomorrow another person comes forward
to say he will bring out five. It is 220 that we want to see. What is
their condition? We can then agree to discuss and have the girls;
reunite them with their families and have them back in school . ”
Speaking about the army’ s invasion of the Niger Delta region, the
president said it is the militants that have the choice of whether to
accept peace ; else, the government will deal with them .
“ The present circumstances completely differ with that of 1984. At
that time, we rounded up all those suspected of plundering
government ’ s money and took them to Kirikiri (prison) , but now we
have to carry out investigation and gather evidence to adduce before
the court . This is what is delaying us .
“ However, we have recovered a lot of money both in Naira and
foreign currencies as well as buildings built with funds diverted from
financing government projects, ” he said .