The Minister of Women Affairs has spoken out on whether or not the remaining Chibok girls still in captivity will soon be freed.
Jummai Alhassan
Jummai Alhassan, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, has said the Federal Government was making efforts to get the remaining girls out of captivity.
According to Sunday Punch, she also appealed to the Boko Haram sect to embrace dialogue not only on the issue of the release of the abducted girls and other Nigerians in their custody but also to stop the insurgency in the North- East.
She said, “Negotiation with the Boko Haram leaders is still going on. You know the first 21 were released in October last year, and about six or seven months later, 82 others came. We are hopeful that by the grace of God, the rest will be released also.
“You heard me pleading with the people that are keeping the girls that they should please see reason and negotiate with the government and embrace dialogue not only because of the release of the Chibok girls but also the release of others that are in their captivity and even to stop the insurgency.
“They should dialogue and see reason and that whatever it is, they should come to the table. Government is ready to engage them in a dialogue."
The minister dismissed insinuations that the government was preventing the parents of the girls from visiting them, stressing that the girls were not compelled to be kept in government custody.
The minister also said that none of the girls was either HIV-positive or pregnant.
Chibok community hails govt
The Chairman, Abducted Chibok Girls Movement, Mr. Yakubu Keki, in an interview with journalists, commended the government for taking adequate care of the girls.
He said he had confidence in the ability of the government to negotiate the release of the remaining girls the same way their counterparts were freed.