The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has revealed more details of the highly publicized swap deal which led to the release of top Boko Haram terrorist.
COAS, Tukur Buratai
While speaking in BBC Programme, 'Hard Talk' on Tuesday, Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, disclosed that the swap of top Boko Haram terrorists to secure the release of the second batch of 82 abducted Chibok schoolgirls was a political decision, not that of the military.
According to Buratai, the Federal Government, at that time, believed that the decision to swap the prisoners for the girls was the best.
He said; “As far as I am concerned, we performed our own role for the safe passage of the abducted Chibok girls.
“The Boko Haram terrorists’ swap for the Chibok schoolgirls was a political decision, not a military decision. It is in the best interest of the nation and based on the circumstances, the government felt it was the best course.
“Personally, I think it has its own advantages; the message is to rescue the Chibok girls. I do not think anyone has said the Boko Haram has been eliminated. Terrorism is something that is resilient.”
The army chief noted that the inability of the Boko Haram insurgents to attack the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and other northern states as they did before May 2015, showed they had been defeated.
“Before May 2015, the Boko Haram insurgents were even in Abuja, Kano and Kaduna. They were operating even to the South. We had to stop them.
“For the past one and a half years, we have not had any attack in Jos, Abuja, Kano and many other places, not even as close as Gombe State. They are only concentrated within certain areas in Borno and Yobe states.”
