CHIBOK GIRLS: We are in touch with Boko Haram, Buhari assures

President Muhammad’s Buhari has stated that
the federal government is in constant touch with
with the Boko Haram terrorist group with a view
to freeing the remaining CHIBOK girls.
The president said government is in touch
“through negotiations, through local intelligence
to secure the release of the remaining girls and
other abducted persons unharmed”.
Buhari who made this known on Thursday, in
commemoration of the third year anniversary of
the abduction of over 200 girls from a
secondary school in Chibok, also stated that
never again will any group hold the nation to
ransom.
“Like I have repeatedly said, the Federal
Government is willing to bend over backwards
to secure the release of the remaining Chibok
girls. We have reached out to their captors,
through local and international intermediaries,
and we are ever ready to do everything within
our means to ensure the safe release of ALL
the girls”, he stated.
His statement read in part, “On April 14, 2014,
Nigeria suffered one of the worst crimes
committed against its citizens – the abduction
of schoolgirls from Government Secondary
School, Chibok, Borno State, by the vicious
terrorist and insurgent group, Boko Haram.

“Upon the inception of this administration in
May 2015, it will be recalled that this militant
group occupied no fewer than 14 Local
Government Areas in the North East of the
country and posed a serious threat to other
parts by unleashing fear and mayhem through
the use of surprise and suicide bombing.
“The menace of this terrorist group was a great
challenge to the resolve of our administration to
implement the Change Agenda. We, therefore,
pledged to reverse the situation, which
constituted a threat to the sovereignty of the
country.
“We were determined to secure the release of
the Chibok girls and others forcefully abducted
from their homes and communities and retake
the occupied territories.
“Determined to secure the freedom of the
abducted girls and recover lost territories, this
administration gave the necessary political and
logistical backing which energised gallant
members of our armed forces and other security
agencies to overrun the headquarters of Boko
Haram in the Sambisa Forest and scatter the
terrorists from their strong base.
“Today, the group has been degraded and is no
longer in a position to mount any serious,
coordinated attack, other than sporadic suicide
attacks on soft targets. Even at that, their reach
is very much confined to a small segment of the
North East where they had previously held sway
unchecked.
“Nigeria and indeed the entire world, must
however, recognise that terrorism has no
borders and remains a growing concern which
calls for collective efforts to curtail. I, therefore,
call on all Nigerians and residents in the
country, to remain extra vigilant and report any
suspicious element or group to the security
agencies. We cannot afford to let down our
guards. Under my watch, no group will hold the
country to ransom.
“On the Chibok girls, we have had reason to
celebrate the return of twenty-four of them and
thousands of other Nigerians who were forcibly
abducted by the terrorists.
“As a parent, I am eternally grateful to God that
some of the girls were found alive and have
been reunited with their families. Government is
doing all within its powers to reintegrate the
freed girls to normal life. Furthermore,
Government is in constant touch through
negotiations, through local intelligence to secure
the release of the remaining girls and other
abducted persons unharmed.
“My special appreciation goes to the parents
and families that have endured three years of
agony and waiting for the return of their
children. I feel what you feel. Your children are
my children. On this solemn occasion, my
appeal is that we must not lose hope on the
return of our remaining schoolgirls.
“Our intelligence and security forces, who have
aptly demonstrated their competence, are very
much equal to the task and absolutely
committed to the efforts to find and return the
schoolgirls and others abducted by Boko Haram.
“I also thank Lake Chad Basin countries, friendly
nations and international partners, who at
various points in the last three years have
offered their support for Nigeria.
“Like I have repeatedly said, the Federal
Government is willing to bend over backwards
to secure the release of the remaining Chibok
girls. We have reached out to their captors,
through local and international intermediaries,
and we are ever ready to do everything within
our means to ensure the safe release of ALL
the girls.
“I wish to reassure the parents of the Chibok
girls, all well-meaning Nigerians, organisations
and the international community that as a
government, we are unrelenting on the issue of
the safe return of our children.
“I trust God that soon, our collective efforts will
be rewarded with the safe return of our
schoolgirls to their families, friends and their
communities”.