A self-confessed member of a terrorist group, Boko Haram, that abducted over 200 girls from their school’s dormitory in Chibok, Borno State, says the girls are in good state of health.

It has been 85 days since the girls were abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School.

In an interview with the BBC on Tuesday, the man, who admitted joining the sect in 2004, said the girls were in what he called “a state of amnesty” and that they were well fed and treated with utmost care.

He said that some of the girls had converted to the Islamic faith while those that refused to join Islam have not been forced to do so.

According to him, the group does not kill women and children intentionally, saying Islam does not permit that. “They are killed only when caught in the crossfire, as they go after their targets.

“I’m telling you this for a fact. They are in a state of amnesty. They don’t have a problem; some of them believe in Islam, some say they would not convert to Islam. We treat them equally. They are all healthy…. Some of them say they will not return to Islam. We tell them this is not a problem. There is no force in Islam. If you see them now, you’ll see that they don’t have any problems.”

Nigeria’s security agencies have been making efforts to rescue the girls and have stressed that they were being cautious to ensure that there would not be casualties while carrying out the rescue operation.

Only yesterday, the National Council of State expressed optimism on the safe return of the the girls.

Briefing journalists after the meeting in Abuja, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, said that the Council was happy with the efforts of the security forces as they push to rescue the abducted girls.

The meeting was attended by six ex-Head of State including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, past ministers of justices and attorneys general, leadership of the national assembly, service chiefs, and some governors of the 36 states of the federation.

The Council, according to Governor Akpabio, also expressed confidence that “there will not be casualties when the rescue operation is carried out.”

President Goodluck Jonathan and the Army Chief briefed the Council on the security situation and the security personnel’s efforts to rescue Chibok girls.

The Council called on Nigerians to be patient with security personnel because the issue of terrorism was new and that security personnel would adopt the best and meticulous approach towards dealing with it effectively.

•Based on stories in Channel TV. Photo shows the abducted Chibok schoolgirls as appeared in a Boko Haram video.