Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has rejected the idea of trading Boko Haram prisoners for schoolgirls the militant group abducted in April, the U.K.’s foreign office minister said after talks with him in Nigeria’s capital on Wednesday.
Mark Simmonds traveled to Abuja to meet with the president to try and figure out how the U.K. can provide more assistance in finding the girls.
“He made it very clear that there would be no negotiations with Boko Haram that involved a swap of abducted schoolgirls for prisoners,” Mr. Simmonds told a news conference, Reuters reported.
The statement comes in stark contrast to what cabinet minister Tanimu Turaki said Tuesday, in which he implied that Nigeria was ready to open dialogue with the terrorists.
Boko Haram recently released a video that showed about 130 of the kidnapped girls wearing hijabs and chanting the Koran.
The group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, said that he will not order the release of the students until the government releases all militant prisoners.
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• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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