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.