The Nigerian military on Saturday said no ransom was paid for last month’s release of 21 abducted school girls from Chibok Girls Secondary School.
Describing media reports that a ransom was paid as “unsubstantiated,” Nigerian Defence spokesman, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, asked the media to remain partners in progress with the Nigerian military.
General Abubakar regretted that such reports could jeopardize ongoing efforts to free the remaining Chibok school girls.
Abubakar said: “The attention of Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has been drawn to a news story alleging that ransom was paid by the government in exchange for the recently release of 21 of the abducted Chibok girls. This unsubstantiated story, to say the least, is quite unfortunate.
“It is important to recall here that several statements have been issued by the military high command to clarify the issue surrounding the release of the girls, which the whole world applauded. It is therefore worrisome that some sections of the media continue to undermine this modest effort of the government, security agencies and other stakeholders. It is imperative to state categorically that the sponsors of this media campaign have a hidden agenda which is best known to them.”
“The insinuation that ransom was paid to the terrorists, which the terrorists used to escalate the recent attacks in the northeast, is completely false and the imagination of the author. The general public should therefore discountenance it in its entirety,” he said.
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