Abducted Chibok girls are ‘healthy, feeding well’

A man claiming to be a “spiritual teacher inside Boko Haram” has told the BBC World Service radio that the hundreds of girls abducted in Chibok in April are “feeding very well” and in “good states of health”.

The man, whose spoke anonymously and had his voice disguised in the interview, also said that although most of the Christians among the girls have been converted to Islam, those who objected have not been forced.

However, he reiterated the sect’s previous position that unless the federal government frees members of the sect imprisoned in government facilities, the Chibok girls would not be released.

“I joined the group in 2004. We are pushing for a Sharia state,” he said.

“We want the Nigerian government to release our members. If they release our members today, we will release the girls tomorrow. You will see all of them.

“As Abubakar Shekau, our leader promised the media, if our members are released, the girls will be released. We want the Nigerian government to release our members. Today, if the government releases our members, tomorrow or the next day, we promise [that] you can see all of them [sic].”

Speaking further on the general mood of the girls in detention, he said: “The girls are in a state of amnesty; they don’t have any problem. We are not forcing them or putting them under any pressure.

“Those who agreed to convert to Islam have been converted and those who refused have been left. There is no force conversion in Islam. Allah commands us to treat everyone equally. We are not discriminating against them; we treat all of them equally. They all are healthy. They feed well. If you see them now, you will see that they don’t have any problem.

“Under Islam, killing women and children is not acceptable. But if they are fighting you, then you must fight them. But if they don’t attack you, you leave them. Killing children and women is not accepted at all. We only go after those who give information to our enemy.”

The report of the positive condition of the girls comes one day after coordinator of the national information centre, Mike Omeri, said the abducted girls are close to regaining their freedom, as security agents have been obtaining useful information from the arrested chief intelligence officer of Boko Haram.