secure the release of the Dapchi girls.
The government reiterated this on the heels of the 22nd report of the
Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the United
Nations' Security Council, which stated that large ransom payment was
made to Boko Haram to secure the release of the over 100 schoolgirls
kidnapped from a secondary school in Dapchi, Yobe State in February.
This is contrary to what the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai
Mohammed, told journalists at the time that the girls were released
following "back-channel" negotiations brokered with the help of some
"friends of the country."
He maintained that no ransom was paid for their release, and also
denied that any Boko Haram prisoner was swapped as part of the
negotiations.
In a statement issued in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Thursday, the
Minister challenged anyone who has any evidence of payment to publish
such.
"It is not enough to say that Nigeria paid a ransom, little or huge.
There must be a conclusive evidence to support such claim. Without
that, the claim remains what it is: a mere conjecture," the Minister
said.
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