expressed confidence that the sect would keep their promise to release the over 234 kidnapped girls.
The Federal Government
revealed that it had no reason to doubt Boko Haram’s promise to release the
abducted girls even while the sect allegedly breached the ceasefire agreement
they recently entered, Vanguard reports.
A top military official who
spoke on condition of anonymity disclosed that the dialogue between the Federal
Government and representatives of the Boko Harm sect is expected to continue
today in Chad.
“It is true that the sect
demanded the release of some of their fighters and the Federal Government is
ready to meet some of their conditions to secure the girls’ freedom. There are
high hopes that the girls will be released; the military is ready to move in
and bring out the girls when this is done. Already, the Federal Government has
put machinery in motion to receive the girls once they are released,” the
source said.
Speaking on the ceasefire
agreement reached by the Nigerian army and Boko Haram, he confirmed that the
military is adhering to its part of the agreement. He said the attacks
reportedly carried out at the weekend in Borno and Adamawa States would be
investigated to know who was actually responsible for it.
It would be recalled that
on Friday last week, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh,
announced that Boko Haram had agreed to a ceasefire and instructed all the
field commanders of the troops to observe the ceasefire deal.
The Defence headquarters
has put Commanders of troops at the battlefield on standby as there were
indications that the kidnapped school girls that were taken from Government
Girls Secondary School Chibok, Borno State on Aril 14, 2014, would be released
tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mike Omeri,
the Coordinator of the National Information Centre at the weekend confirmed
that negotiations were ongoing with Boko Haram terrorists.
“Especially as it concerns
release of the Chibok girls and the general insecurity in the North East and
also the need to rescue all other captives of the terrorists. Already, the
terrorists have announced a ceasefire in furtherance of their desire for peace.
In this regard, the government of Nigeria has, in similar vein, declared
ceasefire,” Omeri said.
In a related development,
Alhaji Adamu Muazu, the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party,
PDP, on Sunday said he has no comment to make over the critics of the Federal
Government on the issue of the kidnapped Chibok girls saying, he has handed
girls to God.
The PDP chairman, who
accused the opposition party of politicising the matter, revealed that PDP will
no longer respond to critics on the matter.
Muazu on his twitter
account said: “We will refrain from making further comments on this issue but
let Allah judge all of us on this issue of #PoliticsOfChibok. The opposition
had crossed the line on the Chibok abduction and many other issues, it is no
longer necessary to join issues with them. It is true that in politics, all
game is fair game, but there are certain lines that should never be crossed and
one of such is the Chibok issue.
“We were told a certain
political party has turned the plight of our abducted Chibok daughters to a
political issue. How very sad. Dear Nigerians, our great party is tired of
responding to pettiness, lies and propaganda. We have better things to do than
that.”
Meanwhile, it was reported
that the Chadian President, Idriss Deby, was the one responsible for the
ongoing ceasefire agreement between the Federal Government and Boko Haram.
However, few days after the
Federal Government announced a ceasefire agreement with the Boko Haram
terrorists group, a series of deadly attacks was launched on a number of
Nigerian villages.
Vanguard
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