Usman Alkali Baba, the Inspector General of Police, has explained by security operatives sometimes go into negotiation with non-state actors in order to secure the safe release of hostages.
He explained that it would be risky to apply extreme force in a bid to free hostages abducted by armed terrorists.
Alkali Baba disclosed this when he appeared at the weekly briefings coordinated by the Presidential Media Team in Abuja on Thursday.
The Police Chief stated this against the backdrop of more than 80 Chibok girls still in the captivity of Boko Haram, including 29 students of FGC Birni Yauri who remain in captivity several years after their kidnap.
He said, “You see, the issue of kidnapping is an issue that borders almost all the security agents, including the military, it is a crime that once it is committed, you have to thread very softly and with all sense of professionalism.
“If you do not rescue the person, safely, unhurt, you have not achieved anything and once somebody is in the captivity of an armed person, then you need to do a lot of things, it is not all about guns and other things.
“There are a lot of other things that can be done. We were able to rescue the whole of Forestry students in Kaduna through negotiation, we were able to rescue many others, which I can give you an example, for those that we are in contact with, there are things that we are doing, it is a new crime and requires new ways of approaching it and new ways of dousing it.
See Also: Shettima A Grand Commander Of Bandits – PDP
“Clearly it is under study. For instance, the issue of Train negotiators and so forth were not an issue before, but now we are looking into it and we are putting our personnel to undergo such training and courses. So, we will not say hope is lost. We are still on it”.
According to the IGP, some Chibok girls who have been impregnated and were set free, sometimes attempt to return to their captors.
He added, “The issue of Chibok girls you know they are coming out one after another and gradually. Sometimes they come out and say yes, we have come to see our parents and we want to go back.
“So maybe they have been assimilated or acclimatized with the situation and indoctrinated and had become part and parcel of those who have abducted them. But like as I’m saying, it is a continuous effort and even last month, you saw a Chibok girl coming out with two or three kids and said she only came to greet her parents and she wants to go back. So, we are still on it, there is hope”.
Source: Daily Post