Boko Haram terrorist group has renewed its clamour for a tradeoff with the Federal Government to free the abducted students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State, aducted and kept in captivity since April 14.

A member of the group, who identified himself as a teacher and scholar in Boko Haram’s camp, said the sect leader, Abubakar Shekau, was ready to free the girls once the Federal Government releases insurgents in prison custody across the country.

Speaking with British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Radio Service, the Boko Haram leader, whose name was not mentioned, declared that “anything short of this condition may be dangerous to the lives of the over 200 schoolgirls in our custody.”

Below is the text of the man’s speech on the BBC:

“Yes, we want the Nigerian Government to release our members. As our leader, Abubakar Shekau, promised to the media, if today the government releases our members, tomorrow or the next day we promise you can see all of them (the girls). We would release them tomorrow or the next day.

“I am telling you a fact, they (girls) are in a state of amnesty. They don’t have a problem. Some of them have believed in Islam, some of them say they would not convert to Islam but we didn’t differentiate them, we treated them equally. They are healthy, feeding and all. We didn’t differentiate between them at all, because, Allah commands us to treat them equally. Some of them say they would not come back to Islam, we asked them to stay, no problem. There is no forcing in Islam but some of them who are not Muslims are converting to Islam but we are not differentiating them. If you see them now, you would see that they don’t have any problem.

“Under Islam, killing children and women is not accepted; you understand, but if they are fighting you, then you must fight them but if they are not fighting you, then it is not accepted whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims. Do not fight them, it is not accepted but if you bomb somewhere or make arrests somewhere, it will affect them but killing children and women is not accepted.”

•Adapted from a Nigerian Pilot report. Photo shows the abducted Chibok schoolgirls as appeared in a Boko Haram video.

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