Boko Haram: Swapping Chibok Girls Won't Stop Military Operation —Defence Chief |PoliFocus

The Chief of Defence Staff, Lt.-Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin, on Monday said the demand that the Federal Government swap detained Boko Haram members for the Chibok girls who have been in captivity for over two years was a political decision that would not stop ongoing military operations.


Olonishakin spoke with State House correspondents after a workshop organised for top security chiefs on how to respond to emergency situations such as terrorism and flood inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The BringBackOurGirls group and the parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls had on Sunday demandedthat the government heed the call for a swap following the video of the girls released by the sect on Sunday.

Boko Haram is holding more than 200 of the 276 final-year girls it seized from Government Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State, in April 2014.

Olonishakin told reporters that he would not stop the ongoing military operations against the insurgents which he said were going on smoothly.

“That (call for the swap of the girls with Boko Haram fighters) is a political decision to be taken. The military decision is that we are going ahead with our operations. The operation is being conducted appropriately,” he said.

The CDS however promised to analyse the video with aview to taking a position on it soon.“We are analysing the video released by Boko Haram and we will make appropriate comments at the right time,” he said.

He also denied media reports that one of the men declared wanted gave himself up to the Nigeria Army and was asked to return home.

He said the workshop attended by the security chiefs was on how to handle all forms of crisis including terrorism and flood.

The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, insisted that contrary to what anybody or group could say, the government was in touch with the sect on the fate of the girls.

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