“The president did not believe that those girls were abducted for almost 18 days,” Mr. Obasanjo said in the interview. “If the president got the information within 12 hours of the act and he reacted immediately, I believe those girls would have been rescued within 24 hours, maximum 48 hours.”‬

‪Mr. Obasanjo said that rather than spring into action after receiving briefings about the abduction, “the president had doubts.”

He said the president’s initial action was to ask: “‘Is this true, or is it a ploy by people who don’t want me to be president again?’”‬