The Red Cross has explained its role in the Boko Haram release of 21 of the over 200 Chibok school girls abducted by the terror group in 2014.
The Red Cross and the Swiss Government mediated in the release of the girls, the Nigerian government said on Thursday.
“The role we played was neutral intermediary. We were not involved in the negotiation,” Elodie Schindler, the spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Africa said, Thursday, in an exclusive interview.
“What we usually do is when two parties are negotiating, we don’t get involved. But when they have struck a deal, they can then call us in to mediate.”
Ms. Schindler said when the Nigerian government and Boko Haram reached a deal, they contacted the Red Cross to come in, inspect, and receive the girls.
She said her organisation played no other role beyond that.
The Swiss Embassy is yet to speak on its role in the release of the girls.
The Nigerian government is known to have made fruitless attempts in the past to have Boko Haram release the girls.
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