Senator Shehu Sani representing Kaduna central in the National Assembly has suggested that to get the Chibok girls back, the Government might have to release some Boko Haram members.
He suggested that a negotiation committee charged with brokering a deal with which to get the girls back to their families be set up.
Sani, made the suggestion while fielding questions from newsmen in Kaduna after he gave out assorted materials, equipment and machines to hospitals, schools, women and youths centres valued at N42 million to the seven local government areas under his constituency.
Sani said “It is very unfortunate that we could not get this out on time. They have spent two years in captivity now. The good thing now is that the government of Muhammadu Buhari has degraded the capacity of the insurgents to hold unto any territory or to carry out their usual big scale attacks. But we may have to pay a very high price to get these girls out now. It is possible to free them. The best way to get them out is that we need to set up a special committee which has its mandates and responsibilities. It shall be tasked with the mandate to do everything possible including persuading and negotiating with Boko Haram on how to get these girls out.
“And then there is the need to set up another committee to ensure that both sides abide by the rules set up for the negotiation. This committee should include international bodies like the United Nations, Medecins Sans Frontier etc. And I think we may need to pay the highest of price if we need to get these girls out even if it means freeing some of their members in detention. I don’t like this academic argument of saying, ‘if this happens, then that thing will happen’.
“I believe that why these girls have continued to stay in the hands of these captives is simply because of class difference. This is the truth of the hostage situation in Nigeria. When the children of the high and mighty are abducted, or their wives and brothers are kidnapped it takes no time to secure their freedom. That is not good enough. We must take the life of every Nigerian as equal to the other.”