"There are two ways to which you can get these girls free,
"The first is to use force, and the second is through dialogue. The use of force is not an option for now in the sense that nobody knows where these girls are kept.
"And even if you know, these girls have been embedded in with the insurgents who are heavily armed. And any attempt to rescue them will be putting their lives in further danger." the National Orientation Agency, said all options, including negotiations, are under consideration
The Nigerian government has negotiated with Boko Haram for the release of kidnapped girls before,
Last year, the militant group won the release of some 100 of its imprisoned members after reaching an agreement to return about a dozen kidnapped girls.
"I believe that the lives of these girls is more important to us than the insurgents that have been in detention. And we have nothing to lose if we send the insurgents and we can swap them with these girls back. The Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau appeared to open the door to such a resolution.
"By Allah, these girls will not leave our hands until you release our brothers in your prison," he said.
If not, they'll be sold as slaves, he said.
Rights groups have accused Nigeria of using heavy-handed tactics such as illegal searches, torture and extrajudicial killings to crack down on the militants
No comments:
Post a Comment