The Primate of All-Nigeria has urged Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan not to negotiate a prisoner swap with the Islamist terror group Boko Haram.

The Primate of All-Nigeria has urged Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan not to negotiate a prisoner swap with the Islamist terror group Boko Haram. The Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh told reporters that Boko Haram had rejected all offers of negotiation, and that its proposal to exchange over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped last month for its members held in custody was a mistake. The captured gunmen were “criminals” the archbishop said, and should be treated as such. Speaking to reporters during the Diocese of Abuja synod on 18 May 2014, the Archbishop said he supported the government’s imposition of martial law in three states affected by the insurgency. “As long as the problem has not been resolved, we can’t get a normal situation … then it would not be wrong to extend it,” he told the News Agency of Nigeria. The Archbishop of Lagos, the Most Rev. Adebayo Akinde told members of the Synod to hold fast in their faith in the face of the challenges facing Nigeria. “These are not times for Christians to solely depend on the cover, care and protection of human efforts and ingenuity,” Archbishop Akinde said, adding, “I do not know what the solution is to solve the Boko Haram issue, I also do not know how it will come but I want government to take seriously the option of a divine intervention.”