President Goodluck Jonathan, who is currently in the U.S for the ongoing African Leaders Summit convened by US President Barrak Obama, has defended his administration over the slow response to the rescue of the remaining 200 abducted female students from Chibok, Borno State.
Speaking in an interview with the Washington Times in Washington USA where he is attending the summit, President Jonathan said the Federal Government considered the safety of the girls as very paramount hence the adoption of several methods in the operation.
According to the statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, by Dr Doyin Okupe, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, a copy obtained by Punch correspondent, the President said government is encouraging intermediaries who have offered to persuade the sect to free the abducted girls.
The statement noted that the Presidency appreciated the support of the international community in the ongoing rescue efforts of the Chibok girls, describing the military approach to the rescue effort as delicate.
“If it is to risk a few dead bodies, it is easier. You can blast the place and carry the corpses. But is that what we have to do? So it is delicate” Jonathan said.
The statement revealed that Jonathan insisted that government knows the location of the kidnapped girls but was being mindful of the consequences of invading the location to avoid a repeat of an episode in February 2013 in which an offshoot of Boko Haram killed seven foreign hostages in northern Nigeria before authorities could rescue them.
“They (terrorist members) are ready to die, so when you are dealing with that scenario, it is very different from the ordinary kidnapping by criminals or people who don’t want to die. So it is very, very delicate” Jonathan said.
The President, who reiterated that dialogue was still an option said: “We have set up a committee, what I call a dialogue committee on the security challenge we have in the north, even before the kidnapping of the Chibok girls. We have a team. And we encourage people to assist them. We do negotiate. Quite a number of people have come with different information. We encourage them. But none of them has yielded any results yet
President Jonathan also assured that the federal government is committed to winning the war against terrorism in the northern part of Nigerian as well as reconstructing the various infrastructure destroyed by the sect’s activities.
He urged all leaders of thought in the region to co-operate with the Federal Government and give useful information to security agencies to enable them secure the lives and property of citizens in the region.
It would be recalled that over 234 female students were kidnapped from their school, Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram Members on April 14, 2014.
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