Nigerian govt insists no ransom was paid for Dapchi schoolgirls' release

The Federal Government on Thursday insisted that it did not pay any ransom to secure the release of the Dapchi girls released last March by Boko Haram.

In a statement issued in Ilorin, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed challenged anyone who has any evidence of payment to publish it.

The minister was responding to news item in the media which quoted a report submitted to the UN Security Council alleging that ransom was paid for the release of the girls.

“In Nigeria, 111 schoolgirls from the town of Dapchi were kidnapped on 18 February 2018 and released by ISWAP on 21 March 2018 in exchange for a large ransom payment,” the report stated.

Mohammed insisted that the report remained a speculation until evidence of payment of the purported ransom was made available.

“It is not enough to say that Nigeria paid a ransom, little or huge.

“There must be a conclusive evidence to support such claim.

“Without that, the claim remains what it is: a mere conjecture,” the Minister said.