President Buhari willing to pay cash to Boko Haram in exchange for Chibok girls

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his government would be willing to make financial payments to Boko Haram to secure the release of the abducted Chibok girls.

Buhari, who made the comments on Al Jazeera’s UpFront programme, said that the exchange to be made would depend on the negotiations with the sect.

“…It depends on the

negotiations with the leadership of Boko Haram,” the president told Al-Jazeera's Mehdi Hasan.

Buhari also said that his government would not hesitate to negotiate with the sect once it provides proof that the girls are alive.

“They have to prove to us that they are alive, they are well, and then we can…negotiate with them. We said it and we meant it. If we are satisfied that the girls are alive,” he said.

The Nigerian president, who has urged the country’s military to wipe out the sect before December, however said that he would not resign if the feat is not achieved but would rather “stay and fight it out.”

Buhari had earlier admitted that his government was negotiating with Boko Haram but was trying to confirm if the parties involved were the sect’s true leaders.