'I have ways of reaching Boko Haram, Federal Government has not permitted me' - Olusegun Obasanjo

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, expressed frustration in his bid to secure the release of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram Islamist sect,
saying that although he has ways of reaching the sect, Federal Government has not permitted him to negotiate with the terrorists.  He also made a grim comment about the fate of the girls, saying that some of them would never return.

Speaking in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service monitored in Kaduna yesterday, Obasanjo said: “Perhaps, succeeding generations would continue to remember those female students who were abducted.“Only those that would later get pregnant and the sect members would find it difficult to cater for the babies in the forest might be released.

“I have ways of communicating with Boko Haram members, but the government has not permitted me to do so.”He was of the view that the girls might have been separated and not kept at the same location.He said: “I believe that some of them will never return. We will still be hearing about them many years from now. Some will give birth to children, but if the sect members cannot take care of them in the forest, they may be released.”