Nigeria reaches deal with Boko Haram to free abducted girls
18 Oct Yahoo News
Nigeria said it had agreed a ceasefire with Islamist militants Boko
Haram and reached a deal for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls
kidnapped by the group six months ago.
There was no immediate confirmation from the rebels, who have wreaked
five years of havoc in Africa's top oil producer and triggered an
international outcry by seizing the girls from the northeast town of
Chibok in April."
I wish to inform this audience that a ceasefire agreement has been
concluded," said the head of Nigeria's military, Air Chief Marshal Alex
Badeh, adding the deal had followed three days of talks with the
militant sect.
Government spokesman Mike Omeri said the deal covered the release of
the captives and Boko Haram had given assurances "that the schoolgirls
and all other people in their captivity are all alive and well". Their
release would be a huge boost for President Goodluck Jonathan, who faces
an election next year and has been pilloried at home and abroad for his
slow response to the kidnapping and his inability to quell the violence,
the biggest security threat to Africa's biggest economy.
The State Department said it "could not independently confirm" a deal
had been struck between Nigeria and Boko Haram. The United States is
among several Western allies helping Nigeria's military with training
and intelligence support to tackle Boko Haram. |