Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has ruled out releasing Boko Haram fighters in exchange for the more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the group a month ago.
British Minister for Africa, Overseas Territories, the Caribbean, Climate Change and International Energy Mark Simmonds told reporters on Wednesday that he raised the issue with Jonathan during a meeting in Abuja.
“I did discuss this with the president and he made it very clear that there will be no negotiation with Boko Haram that involves a swap of abducted schoolgirls for prisoners,” Simmonds said.
Photo: Reuters
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau suggested the swap in a video released on Monday and Nigerian Minister of the Interior Abba Moro immediately rejected the plan. However, a door to the swap seemed to have opened on Tuesday, when Nigerian Minsiter of Special Duties Taminu Turaki indicated that the teenagers’ freedom could be up for discussion.
Simmonds said Jonathan had now ruled that out, but was still prepared to fulfil his pledge of talking to the group about wider issues to end the violence.
The rejection of a swap came as international powers ramped up the search effort, including with the use of US military surveillance drones and manned aircraft. The Pentagon said it has deployed the robotic Global Hawk and the manned MC-12 propeller plane.
On Wednesday, militants again attacked the town of Chibok from which the girls were taken, the military said, resulting in an ambush that killed 12 soldiers and led angry troops to fire on an officer.
Soldiers said infuriated troopers fired at a vehicle carrying Major General Ahmadu Mohammed. He was not hit. The witnesses said the soldiers were angry because they told their command the road was too dangerous, but were ordered to travel on it and were ambushed.
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