Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed has insisted that the 21 Chibok school girls who regained their freedom on Thursday were released not swapped with Boko Haram prisoners.

The minister made this known during a news conference in Abuja.

“We can confirm that 21 Chibok schoolgirls were release at 5:30am today, and flown to Kaduna. We expect them to arrive in Abuja soon.

“Please note that this is not a swap, but a release,” he stressed, adding that the release was secured through “confidence building” with the insurgents.

Mohammed however pointed out that “The release of these girls does not mean an end to military operations, but it is a new phase in the war against insurgency‎.”

The minister assured that President Buhari is willing to do “whatever he can do to bring the insurgency under control.”

When pressed further on what the government gave in return for the girls‎, Mohammed said: “People want to believe bad news than good news. The girls were released, there was no swap,”‎ he said.

However, there were reports that some senior government officials who pleaded anonymity had confirmed to journalists that there was indeed a swap deal in which four Boko Haram Prisoners were released by the Nigerian Authorities.