The outgoing British High Commissioner to Nigeria Dr. Andrew Pocock on Tuesday confirmed that his country located the Chibok school girls abducted on April 14,
last year.
He, however, explained that it was impossible to rescue them safely from Boko Haram captivity.
Pocock made the disclosure to journalists in Kaduna after visiting Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i.
He said “Our ability to return the Chibok girls is very limited. Well, after the abduction, for some months, it was clear that substantial group of the girls were together.
“It was also clear that they were by no means all of them. It might be a group of 50 or 80; it’s very hard to tell.
“It presented a terrible dilemma to everybody, attempting to rescue substantial group of girls has two obvious problems; the risk to the attackers and to the girls.”
He said “It was possible that Boko Haram would have killed those girls. And I am not sure whether the military capacity existed for the rescue of these girls.
“So, even though it was possible to say where some of the girls might have been, they were beyond rescue in practical terms.
“I think the only way for the return of the girls in my personal opinion is through the defeat of Boko Haram.”
The High Commissioner also said dialogue with the
sect was not a good idea.
“I don’t think we will advocate talking to people that abduct innocent civilians and cut people’s throat on video and show it to the rest of the world.
“But what we could be talking about is disarmament and rehabilitation process for those who are willing to put down their weapons,” he added.
