Negotiator involved in bid to free abducted schoolgirls A hostage negotiator has moved to broker a deal between the government and Boko Haram for the safe release of the more than 200 girls abducted by insurgents from their hostel in Chibok, Borno State. A United Kingdom -based television station Channels 4 News which disclosed this on Tuesday did not say if the negotiator is acting on his own or on behalf of the federal or Borno State Government. Although the station quoted him as saying that the girls’ release was “within reach,” he also warned that their fate rested on a knife-edge because of the fear by the insurgents that the military might try to forcibly free them. “The girls, we believe, are alive but they have been moved from the location to which they were originally taken,” he said. “It would not be hard to engineer a deal. It looks like they want to release them. They want a way out, “added the intermediary, whom Channel 4 News credited with having a long experience of dealing directly with Boko Haram in previous hostage crises. The negotiator, who wanted to remain anonymous for reasons of personal security, said the group was demanding a ransom but added, “we are hoping they will soften their stance.”
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 11:17:38 +0000
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