Osinbajo denies swap,says ...More Chibok girls will be released using the same negotiation

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday opened up on the release of he 21 Chibok girls,insisting that no Boko Haram member in government’s custody was exchanged for the girls.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the girls at the medical facility of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja,he said the girls were in good health condition, even though they still needed therapy and counseling.

He said:

There was no exchange of any kind. There was no swap of any kind. Even when we started negotiations, we said we would consider all options available to us. Absolutely, there was no exchange of any kind.

“But what has happened and the process we have begun is one which has not involved any type of swap of Boko haram commanders or any militant in any way. That is a very good turn of event.
“We believe that in the next few days and months, we will be bringing in more of these girls using exactly the same kind of negotiation and the same template that we used.” He added.

He said the Red Cross was not involved in the negotiation but only helped in taking the girls back.

“The Swiss government worked with us in the process of negotiation but the Red Cross is not involved in the negotiation but in taking the girls back, of course, we worked with the Red Cross because we were unable to take our own medical team.
The Red Cross was not involved at all in the process of negotiation. It was the Swiss government, our own officials: the DSS, intelligence and the military that were involved.

He said “one of the 21 girls has a baby”.