Indications emerged during the weekend that some of the Chibok schoolgirls in the custody of Boko Haram sect are currently ill.
A prominent Australian cleric, Dr. Stephen Davis gave this sad revelation on Sunday.
Davis, a hostage negotiator, told an online publication of the British newspaper, The Mail on Sunday, that he was hired by President Goodluck Jonathan to negotiate for the freedom of the schoolgirls who were abducted on April 14.
The Mail claims that Davis who was once the Canon Emeritus at the Coventry Cathedral in London and a friend of The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has been in Nigeria working secretly on the release of the girls for almost a month now.
The clergyman revealed he had ‘‘ongoing contacts’’ with the groups involved in the kidnapping in the North-East for seven years.”
He attributed his success in hostage negotiations in Nigeria to “a long process of building trust on both sides.”
He said, ‘One of that small group of girls is ill and we had hoped we might convince the commander of the group holding her that she should be released so we could give her medical treatment.
‘There are other girls who are not well and we have come close to having them released but their captors fear a trap in which they will be captured in the handover process.
‘One girl has what I assume a broken wrist as they demonstrate to me how she holds her hand. I have been told that others are sick and in need of medical attention.
“But I am encouraged by the progress. Everyday, there is the possibility of the release of the girls.
‘This is painful for the parents and the nation. The well-being of the girls is constantly on our minds and we want to see their release as soon as possible.”
The secret negotiator however ruled out the possibility of a rescue since the girls were not being held in one location.
He said, “There are several groups to deal with as the girls are held in several camps across the Nigerian border in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. This makes any thought of a rescue highly improbable. To attempt to rescue one group would only endanger the others. We must not endanger their lives any further.
“The vast majority of the Chibok girls are not being held in Nigeria.
“I say the ‘vast majority’ as I know a small group was confirmed to me to be in Nigeria last week when we sought to have them released.”
NAN.
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