Boko Haram: Presidency Reveals Steps Taken Over Chibok Girls, Sharibu, Others

The Presidency on Monday disclosed that it was still negotiating with members of Boko Haram over the released of Chibok schoolgirls, Leah Sharibu and others still being held captive.

In a statement on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu also took a swipe at a former CNN anchor, Isha Sesay, for saying that Nigerians and the government had forgotten the kidnapped girls because they were from poor homes.

He said it was wrong for Sesay to have said the government did not know who to negotiate with since Boko Haram had split into different factions.

“This is a misrepresentation of the position of the government. When the government spoke on the issue, it was clear that although this split had the effect of making negotiation and reaching an agreement a more difficult task, this country and our international partners are still engaging through third parties with the terrorists,” the presidential spokesperson said.

Garba Shehu, however, admitted that the Buhari administration had no information on where the captives were held.

“This book asserts that the government and people of Nigeria no longer cared about the girls because ‘they are poor…they don’t have famous names; people just don’t care.’

“No. Nigerians care and that is why the #BringBackOurGirls movement was able to generate the groundswell of public opinion,” he added.

He argued the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan failed to acknowledge the abduction of the girls until much later but said it would be unfair to ascribe some of the inefficiencies of the last government to Buhari’s own.