{"id":20871,"date":"2014-05-26T16:54:27","date_gmt":"2014-05-26T16:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=20871"},"modified":"2014-05-26T16:54:27","modified_gmt":"2014-05-26T16:54:27","slug":"nigeria-kidnapped-girls-govt-called-off-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/05\/nigeria-kidnapped-girls-govt-called-off-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria kidnapped girls: Gov’t ‘called off deal’"},"content":{"rendered":"
A deal for the release of some of the abducted schoolgirls in Nigeria was close to being secured when the Nigerian government called it off, the BBC has learned.<\/p>\n
Some of the girls were set to be freed in exchange for imprisoned Islamist militants, reports the BBC’s Will Ross.<\/p>\n
Boko Haram group snatched more than 200 girls from a school on 14 April.<\/p>\n
Nigeria’s government is under pressure to do more to tackle the group and bring about the girls’ release.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people have died since Boko Haram began a violent campaign against the Nigerian government in 2009 and in the subsequent security crackdown.<\/p>\n
Swap<\/strong><\/p>\n The BBC has learned that officials have held talks with the group to secure the release of the schoolgirls.<\/p>\n An intermediary met Boko Haram leaders earlier this month and visited the location in north-east Nigeria where the girls were being held, says the BBC’s Will Ross in the capital, Abuja.<\/p>\n A deal was almost reached to set some of the girls free in exchange for the release of 100 Boko Haram members being held in detention, our correspondent says.<\/p>\n But the government cancelled the planned agreement shortly before the swap was due to take place.<\/p>\n The reasons for the withdrawal are unclear.<\/p>\n It came just after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan attended a meeting in Paris hosted by President Francois Hollande of France where leaders said they had\u00a0agreed a “global and regional action plan”<\/a>against Boko Haram.<\/p>\n ‘All options open’<\/strong><\/p>\n The girls, who were mainly Christian, were taken from their school in Chibok, in north-eastern Borno state and are thought to be held in a remote forested area of the state, close to the border with Chad and Cameroon.<\/p>\n Nigeria previously\u00a0insisted it would not agree to free Boko Haram members<\/a>\u00a0in return for their release.<\/p>\n However, the information ministry had earlier said all options were on the table, after the group\u00a0released a video of the girls<\/a>\u00a0earlier this month and suggested a swap.<\/p>\n The video showed 136 girls, and was interspersed with militants explaining that they had “converted” to Islam.<\/p>\n The UK, the US, China and France are among the countries to have sent teams of experts and equipment to help to locate them.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Nigeria is reeling from continuing violence – on Sunday, 24 villagers died in a raid by suspected Boko Haram militants.<\/p>\n On Saturday there was another bomb in the central city of Jos where earlier in the week 118 people had died a twin car bomb attack blamed on the group.<\/p>\n