Chibok girls: Powerful Nigerians don’t want girls rescued — Negotiator

Some powerful Nigerians are sabotaging the efforts of the Federal Government and other concerned citizens to ensure that the over 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram are set free. This was disclosed by the President, Civil Rights Congress, Mr. Shehu Sani, in an exclusive interview with sunday punch Sani, who has been involved in efforts to get government and Boko Haram to discuss the fate of the girls in the past, said some powerful individuals, whom he refused to name, ensured that the talks derailed.

Sani’s disclosure came even as SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that government had begun fresh talks with the group to secure the release of the girls.

Reports have claimed that the girls who were kidnapped from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, have been sighted in camps inside Sambisa Forest, in some border towns near Cameroon and in the Central African Republic.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Sani; and a United Arab Emirates-based Nigerian freelance journalist, Ahmad Salkida, who had communication channels with Boko Haram, had offered to mediate between the government and the sect. But none of these efforts have yielded fruits.

There have been speculations that recently President Goodluck Jonathan and Obasanjo held a meeting to discuss how to negotiate the release of the girls.

Sani, who is one of the negotiators facilitating the current talks, confirmed that government and the sect had started another round of talks for the release of the girls. However, he expressed fears that the powerful Nigerians who sabotaged earlier talks might derail the ongoing talks if care was not taken.

“What I want to tell you is that something is being done about it but I’m not disposed to making it public. Most times, publicising these issues always lead to sabotage by those who do not want the girls freed. I will not mention the names of these Nigerians.

“However, I can tell you that real and genuine moves are going on, which I am a part of. The claim that the girls have been abandoned is not true. There are genuine efforts by government and some individuals, who are discreetly making efforts toward getting their (pupils’) safe return home.”

The human rights activist noted that the girls could only be freed either forcefully or through dialogue and negotiation.

He added that the foreign intervention sought by some Nigerians had not produced results.