There are strong indications that the 218 schoolgirls abducted six months ago in Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram MAY be released on Monday following a ceasefire agreement the sect negotiators reached with the Federal Government.
The Government, through the Nigerian military, had, on Friday, said that it had agreed to a ceasefire with the heartless terrorists group and that the Chibok girls would soon be released.
The deal was announced by the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh. Nigerian military has struggled to defeat Boko Haram which began attack against Nigeria since 2009.
The President’s Principal Secretary, Hassan Tukur, told BBC Focus on Africa that an agreement to end the Boko Haram hostilities had been reached after talks with the violent group.
He said, “The Boko Haram members have assured us that they have the girls and that they will release them. I am cautiously optimistic.”
He said the agreement was reached after one month of negotiations in Saudi Arabia. The negotiation was said to have been headed by the Chadian President Idriss Deby.
Tukur said Boko Haram announced a unilateral ceasefire on Thursday and the government had responded. Tukur and Danladi Ahmadu, who calls himself the Secretary-General of Boko Haram, told VOA’s Hausa service that the abducted girls would be released on Monday in Chad.
The girls are alive, “in good condition and unharmed,” Ahmadu said.
President Goodluck Jonathan has faced strong criticism over a deteriorating security situation in Nigeria, with villages in the North-East Borno State inaccessible due to the threat from Boko Haram.
The group however demanded the release of detained extremists in exchange for the schoolgirls.
I pray the girls be released with their dignities intact.
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