THE Federal Government FG on Thursday, said the 82 Chibok girls who were released by the Bokoharam terrorists are currently undergoing medical screening.
The screening is expected to last between the period of two to three weeks.
Minister of Women Affairs and Social development, Hajia Jummai Alhassan who spoke with newsmen in Abuja on the present state of the recently released 82 girls said negotiations are ongoing to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls.
She said already, the recently released 82 girls are currently undergoing rehabilitation and reintegration processes in various medical facilities across the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The Minister, stressed that the government will not hesitate to exchange the girls with detained Bokoharam terrorists if the need arises.
She added that photos of the 82 girls have been sent to families in Chibok for identification even as she added that families were currently meeting to identify their daughters.
“We have no apologies or regrets whatsoever for exchanging Boko haram detainees for our daughters. We will do it again if needed.
“Persons doubting that the girls are Chibok Girls, we are happy to pay for you to travel to Chibok to confirm from families
“When parents of the 82 Chibok girls arrive from Chibok (in a matter of days) doubting Thomases will see that they are truly ChibokGirls,” she added.
“We are negotiating seriously to have the rest of the ChibokGirls released. We will not relent until all are back.”
On the previously released 21 Chibok girls, she said the girls were reunited with their families within one week of their return in October 2016.
She said before the arrival of the 82 girls, the government had been taking care of the 24 previously-released girls, and 4 babies.
She quickly pointed out that the government had never denied parents and guardians of the girls from meeting them.
“The people complaining that they are not allowed to see the set of 21 Chibok girls are not their biological parents or guardians
“Reports that we are preventing parents from seeing their children who are among the set of 21 Chibok girls are absolutely not true. The girls speak to their parents/families every weekend and the parents visit from time to time.
“We are very careful who we grant access to the Chibok girls. We will only grant access to their parents, not community members, as we do not want people to keep asking them questions that will make them relive the horrible experiences they had while in captivity.
“It was the choice of the Chibok girls and their parents — when they returned — to stay under the care of the Federal Government in Abuja.
“The parents of the Chibok girls are free to visit them at any time. We will never prevent them from seeing their daughters,” she said.