Chief of defence staff (CDS) has said negotiating the release of detained Boko Haram members is a political decision that will not stop troops from maintaining the ongoing operations in the north-east.
Abayomi Olonishakin, Chief of Defence Staff
While addressing reporters after a workshop organised for top Security Chiefs inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Abayomi Olonishakin, on Monday responded to the prisoners’ swap demand made by Boko Haram in a new video of the abducted Chibok girls.
General Olonishakin who spoke after the meeting on how to respond to emergency situations such as terrorism, said that the demand that the Federal Government swap detained Boko Haram members for the Chibok Girls, was a political decision that would not stop ongoing military operations.
For the second time since their abduction two years ago, the video of the missing Chibok Girls with their captors has gone viral, and Defense chief said other security chiefs were studying the latest video released by the sect, with the hope of rescuing the remaining Chibok schoolgirls in captivity.
“The military’s decision is that we are going ahead with our operations. The operation is being conducted appropriately. The meeting was about how we handle crisis, all forms of crisis, be it flood or terrorism.
“We are analysing the video released by Boko Haram and we will make appropriate comments at the right time,” he said.
Also at the workshop was the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, who reiterated his position that the government was on top of the situation, saying that efforts to rescue the girls would continue until the girls are out, adding that it's an optimism many Nigerians would want to see happen in the nearest possible future.