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The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari swapped 4 Boko Haram Commanders in exchange for 21 Chibok girls who were released a few weeks ago, our investigations can exclusively reveal. In addition, the administration also paid a ransom of $5m.
A senior official within the Directorate of State Security told LeadersNG that the swap and ransom payment was done against the advice of the agency.
“We warned Mr. President not to swap those prisoners for the Chibok girls. Those prisoners were among the most dangerous boko haram commanders and are IED experts who have been responsible for several bombings and deaths of innocent Nigerians.” our source said.
Our source went on to link the recent upsurge in the activities of the insurgents to the release of the 4 prisoners and the payment of the ransom. According to him, “With these men back in the Boko Haram fold, they now have expert weapons and tactical knowledge that they have been deprived of for a while.”
“It is public knowledge that Lt. Col MA Ali, one of Nigerians finest officers was recently killed during a Boko Haram attack. Several other officers whose deaths have not received wide press coverage were also killed as well. In fact, the media is not reporting a lot of the casualties being suffered by the Nigerian army and civilians as a result of the war on terror.”
Our investigations revealed that Boko Haram has been requesting for the release of the 4 prisoners, who were arrested after security agencies had trailed them for as long as two years, as part of negotiations for the release of the Chibok girls since the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Sources within the DSS say that shortly before the 2015 presidential election President Jonathan had almost succumbed to political pressure from within and outside Nigeria to accede to the prisoner swap before he was advised against it by Isreali Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Many people within the Jonathan administration had sought to use to release of the Chibok girls as a campaign tool for his re-election in 2015.
The prisoners had already been put into a car before the conversation between Jonathan and Netanyahu during which Netanyahu prevailed on him to ignore the possible political benefits accruable from the release of the Chibok girls and focus on the best interests of the nation.
Our sources say Netanyahu had told Jonathan that security reports from the Isreali security apparatus indicated that Nigeria had more to lose from the release of the prisoners than she stood to gain from the release of the Chibok girls.
Further investigation shows a growing discontent within the Nigerian security community as casualty figures from renewed Boko Haram attacks rise. The Nigerian Army is particularly shaken up with the death of Lt. Colonel MA Ali, who was killed during in a Boko Haram attack on a military installation a few days ago.
He was very popular within the Nigerian Army for his bravery and had led the efforts to liberate Gamboru Ngala, Gwoza, Banki, Bama and other towns from Boko Haram control. Lt. Colonel Ali, an armoured tank expert who favoured the Russian made T-72 tank, was killed during a night raid while outside his tank.
“We warned Mr. President not to release these prisoners. But he was more concerned about the political mileage he stood to benefit from the release of the Chibok girls than the consequences of paying a ransom or releasing these dangerous men. So he ignored our advice. Many people within the security services of the country are very unhappy that Mr. President ordered the release of the prisoners. There is a lot of unhappiness because this means that Boko Haram will be reinvigorated and the war will be prolonged.”
