Malik Yahya/
The Federal Government today insisted that it did not pay any ransom to secure the release of the Dapchi girls.
The school girls were abducted by
Boko Haram in February and released in March after a swap deal.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement, in Ilorin, challenged anyone who has any evidence of payment to publish it.
The minister was reacting to media reports, 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.
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