President Goodluck Jonathan has insisted that the government knew the whereabouts of the girls.
In an interview with the Washington Times in Washington, USA, yesterday, the President also called for effective international assistance in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency in some parts of the country and rescue of the over 200 girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, kidnapped 115 days ago.
According to him, the Federal Government is encouraging intermediaries who have offered to persuade the Boko Haram terrorist group to release the girls.
Jonathan, who is attending an African Leaders Summit convened by US President, Barrak Obama, explained that government considered the safety of the girls as very paramount, hence the adoption of several methods in the operation.
The President in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said he was appreciative of the support of the international community in the ongoing rescue efforts of the Chibok girls.
While describing a strict military approach to the rescue effort as ‘delicate,’ President Jonathan said: “If it is to risk a few dead bodies, it is easier. You can blast the place and carry the corpses. But is that what we have to do? So it is delicate.”
The President reiterated that the Federal Government had information on the location of the kidnapped girls, but was being mindful of the consequences of invading the location to avoid a repeat of an episode in February 2013 in which an offshoot of Boko Haram killed seven foreign hostages in northern Nigeria before authorities could rescue them. – Vanguard.
