Nigeria’s information minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has denied the report making the rounds that l the Islamist militant group Boko Haram is demanding $50 million from the government as ransom before releasing the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.
Mohammed said ransom reports are not new in an interview with the Voice of America.
“It appears we have several versions of this report. The one that we heard was from a source that (Boko Haram) wants to release 10 of these girls for 1 million euros.
“But the most important thing is that we’ve gone through this route before, and until and when we establish the credibility of this source and the truth behind it, the government will not be in a hurry to make a statement. However, government is using its own channels to authenticate the credibility of this source,” he said.
Mohammed said accusations that the Buhari administration appears not to be doing enough to secure the release of the more than 200 Chibok girls is not fair.
“No day passes without the issue of the kidnapped girls not being at the front burner. But these are highly security and intelligence issues, which cannot always be discussed openly,” he said.
“But I can assure you that for this government, the return of these girls is what is going to bring the final closure on the Boko Haram terrorism and we are working very hard, daily on it.”
