Boko Haram offers to swap kidnapped girls for detainees

Negotiator Fred Eno, who was involved in last year’s talks, revealed “another window of opportunity” had opened within the past few days, but he could not disclose details. He added: “Most wars, however furious or vicious, often end around the negotiation table”. Nigerian law requires charges be brought after 48 hours.

Mr. Blinken noted that it requires a strong commitment to human rights, the absence of which only alienates the people and drives them toward Boko Haram. It is believed that the militants view the Chibok girls as a last-resort bargaining chip. A month later, a video emerged showing the girls wearing the hijab and reciting the Quran.

Since May, he said, Boko Haram had stepped up its attacks in the Lake Chad Basin area – not only in Nigeria, but also in Niger and Chad – mainly against civilian targets, although the structure and capacity of the group for conventional warfare had been largely destroyed through regional action supported by global partners, which he called commendable.

They also asked “that all Nigerians will join our #BringBackOurGirls movement to continue to advocate for our 219 #ChibokGirls until they are rescued and be prepared to embrace and welcome our Girls back home“.

Buhari is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama on July 20.

One of the founders of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign group told the BBC that “there was no time left” for the government to act.

During a meeting at his presidential villa in the capital, Abuja, Buhari said: “Nobody in Nigeria or outside could have missed your consistency and persistence”.

“At the moment we have 44 dead bodies and 47 others injured from the scenes of the two attacks”, said Mohammed Abdulsalam, from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

“We are proud to stand alongside the new government as it works to turn the promise of this moment into real progress for all the citizens of Nigeria“, said Blinken. The country pumps about 2m barrels of oil a day, which account for most of its exports and some 70 per cent of government revenues.

Mr El-Rufai said: “I am sad to confirm that an improvised explosive device most likely carried by a suicide bomber exploded in Sabon Gari and killed 25 people, including a two-year-old”.

The assumption that all girls and women held by the group have been raped is a hard stigma to overcome in Nigeria’s highly religious and conservative society.

It was not immediately clear if that was another name for Boko Haram.