The Presidency has ruled out negotiating the release of the schoolgirls abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State. While claiming responsibility for the April 14 abduction recently, leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, had threatened to sell off the over 200 girls. The statement was seen as a discreet way of asking for ransom from the government for the release of the girls.
But the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, in an exclusive interview with our correspondent on Friday said the government would not pay a ransom or engage in any form of sale of human beings. Abati said no amount of provocation would push the government to engage in any act that was connected to slavery. He said, “The Federal Government is not going to engage in any form of selling human beings. The sale of any human being is an assault on the dignity of that human being.
“Slavery is one of the major crimes against humanity in the UN Conventions. There will be no amount of provocation that will push the Federal Government of Nigeria to engage in anything that is remotely associated to the promotion of slavery.
“The position of the Federal Government is that even if Boko Haram goes ahead with its threat to sell human beings, whoever buys such human beings will be held culpable for promoting slavery.
