FG released 5 Boko Haram members to secure students’ freedom?

According to Daily Trust, a source involved in the negotiations described the deal as a favourable bargain.

The source also assured Nigerians that the released Boko Haram leaders will not pose any threat, adding that talks are on-going to ensure peace is restored in the North-East.

He said “Less than a dozen insurgents were released and this is an unprecedented feat because we got 82 girls and negotiation is ongoing for the release of more very soon.”

Adding that “One positive aspect of it is that even in the midst of war, if you are talking, that is what people like because you will end up having a peace deal, this is the issue of ‘carrot and stick’ and there is certainty.

“The good aspect of this government is that despite the war, despite the fact that the military had subdued this thing, mediation is ongoing and not long after this, you will begin to hear of rehabilitation and reintegration and other components of peace building.”

The source also revealed that talks for the latest release of the 82 Chibok girls took several months to conclude.

Reports say the negotiator was also instrumental on the release of the first set of 21 girls in 2016.

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Speaking on the negotiations, he said “I have the firm belief that it is only when (someone’s time) is due that one would die; and somebody must take the risk and they did.

“And secondly, already trust has been built and mediation does not start and end in one day; this thing started long ago just like what happened in Rwanda that brought lasting peace, and the peace and reconciliation committee in South Africa; these are some of the key elements…I have the belief that I would not die until my appointed time, that is why I went.

“I can assure that the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration has laid the foundation for lasting solution to the Boko Haram insurgency by opening the doors of conversation. This is not new, it is an acceptable norm all over the world.”

Meanwhile, Zannah Mustapha, a mediator and proprietor of the Future Prowess Primary School in Maiduguri, Borno state, told Reuters that some of the Chibok girls refused to leave their Boko Haram captors.