Red Cross involved in secret Boko Haram prisoner swap to release Chibok girls | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Sunday 21 September 2014

Red Cross involved in secret Boko Haram prisoner swap to release Chibok girls

Looks like the federal govt is in talks with Boko Haram to release Chibok girls despite vowing a few months ago not to negotiate with the terror group. According to UK Telegraph, the International Committee of the Red Cross is currently involved in a secret prisoner swap deal to secure the release of the girls. Find the report below...
Officials from the Geneva-based organisation have sat in on talks between the Nigerian government and a senior Boko Haram leader currently held in one of the country's maximum security prisons. The Red Cross officials have also visited a number of other jails, identifying a list of 16 senior commanders that Boko Haram wants freed in exchange for its hostages.
The ICRC's role in the talks represents the first official confirmation that the Nigerian government is actively engaged in talks with Boko Haram over the release of the girls. Publicly, Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, has maintained that the government would never agree to any kind of negotiations.

The ICRC, whose global remit includes prisoners' welfare, has agreed to act as an independent party in ensuring that the two sides, neither of which trust each other, honour any prisoner swap agreement. It has also offered to monitor and oversee any co-ordinated exchange of the schoolgirls for the militants.

Fred Eno, a veteran Nigerian civil rights activist who has been involved in the talks, told The Telegraph: "We felt the negotiations would go better with the backing of a major international humanitarian organisation like the ICRC. There have been two or three ICRC people at each meeting - international staff rather than Nigerians - and they accompany the government security agents to the various prisons and detention centres to identify the people that Boko Haram want released."
The negotiations began around two months ago, when representatives of the ICRC, along with government officials and intermediaries from Nigerian civil rights groups, met with a senior Boko Haram leader currently serving a life sentence in Kuje prison, near the Nigerian capital, Abuja. The Boko Haram leader, identified only as "Omar", acted as a spokesman for all the group's detainees.
A source close to the talks claimed that at one point, the discussions came close to reaching a deal, with delegations despatched to the city of Yola, in north-east Nigeria, in preparation for picking up the girls.
However, the deal then broke down when Boko Haram refused to release all the girls at once, as the government had insisted.

"The insurgents wanted to release the girls on a piecemeal basis, but the government turned down that offer," the source said. "There was also some opposition from some factions inside of the government to doing any kind of prisoner swap at all, as they feel the Boko Haram prisoners are hardened criminals who have committed heinous crimes."

Mr Eno said the 16 prisoners that Boko Haram wanted released were not well-known names among the Nigerian public, but were still senior figures in the group. "They were senior enough that some other commanders who had taken their place are worried about what will happen to their own positions if they are released," he said.

He added that one of the reasons for the breakdown in the agreement was that in some cases, the ICRC and prison authorities had been unable to match the names on the Boko Haram list to prisoners held in any jails. He said was possible that this was because the names were simply wrong or inaccurate, but that the group had inferred that the government was trying to hold some prisoners back, and had therefore refused to release all the girls at once.

News of the ICRC's involvement may bring a glimmer of hope for the girls' families, many of whom have begun to fear that they may never see their daughters again. Some have even asked the government to officially declare their children as dead so that they can conduct formal funerals. Western diplomats in Abuja also told The Telegraph recently that they doubted the girls would ever be released because of Western pressure on the Nigerian government not to negotiate with a terrorist group as brutal as Boko Haram.

The ICRC has a track record in trying to assist people held captive by insurgent groups. In Afghanistan, its staff have made discreet visits to private jails run by the Taliban, even as the Taliban engage in fighting with coalition forces.

A spokesman for the ICRC in Geneva would neither confirm nor deny its involvement in the talks, but said it was willing to help "in facilitating the transfer of people back to families if necessary".
He added: "We have a dialogue with all the different parties, and if there is any way we can help as a neutral humanitarian organisation, we will."

Culled from UK Telegraph

35 comments:

The Sexiest Mother Of This Blog said...

too long joor abeg who finish am? YAWNS

Alloy Chikezie said...

I am for Anything just to release those girls


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www.glowyshoes.com said...

Hope something tangible will come out

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www.glowysofiscated.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Watever, we only need our girls back alive.
⌣̊┈̥-̶̯͡»̶̥♡thanks ⌣̊┈̥-̶̯͡»̶̥ 

Unknown said...

Dnt even know wat to say......releasing those BH commanders isn't d best at all. Its gonna worsen oh.

Unknown said...

So tried with this stuff jor.

#king said...

Same negotiations going on since how many months..Abeg next gist.........................#KingOfKings

Unknown said...

Who are they dey deceiving?no girls were kidnapped abegi

Olubukola Ozone said...

Why do I av d feelin dat even if dis girls ar released eventually, dey could be a terror to d society, based on d negativity of d doctrine dey'v tot dem?

Angeliqué said...

I personally don't care what they do, they just ve to get these girls back,i cant stop thinking of what they may be Going through wit those Boko animals

Unknown said...

Abeg no chibok gals is missing jor...I still believe it's a propaganda by boko haram islamist to use it as a weapon against nigeria so as to create reasons for us to negotiate in the future when things start falling apart for them,,every terrorist has a plan B.

Unknown said...

Chai Nigeria government always fall my hand i don't know why they don't kill dis wicked human being,we all masses know that's Government will free most of d criminals

Unknown said...

Dis kind gals wey dem hold for hw many months ke!! Dey'll b enjoyin d jungle by now

Anonymous said...

We hope they can bring them back atleast to confirm if truly there are missing girls. Some people still believe that it was all a Propaganda

Video: Denrele is confessing, says Goldie's spirit is haunting him to expose her killers, because he knows them

#bringbackourgirlsiftheyaretrulymissing

Unknown said...

Dats good
Faceoflib

Jenny said...

Hello linda.

Anonymous said...

It's not everything you carry as news. Why do you bloggers act dumb at times. Y'all need to get arrested when you carry such news

Unknown said...

I suspected most of the girls had been used for BH suicide bombing.

LKJ said...

Whatever it takes, just bring back the girls alive

Unknown said...

a.k.a EDWIN CHINEDU AZUBUKO said...
.
None of those gals is coming out alive believe me.......
.
.
***CURRENTLY IN JUPITER***

yaxx said...

nawaooo,,,nothing wey i go talk wey go kukuma make add or reduce to dis matter,,anytin wey them like, make them do

Anonymous said...

Usa doesn't want nigeria to negotiate with terrorists but they negotiated with taliban. Una dey see them so?? They should pack well oo

Lady G said...

This is not about western influence! This is about common sense! You never ever negotiate with terrorists! They release the 300 girls, you give them back their men and 2 weeks later they kidnap 1000 more girls and wipe out a whole region because they are stronger! That's how it goes! Negotiating with terrorist groups like boko haram never goes well, especially in a country like Nigeria that is not high in military intelligence or clean operations. Take the world's advise... Never make a deal with the devil.

ary said...

Robbing peter to pay paul, that's what this is. By releasing more of their people, you are arming them to kidnap more girls and who knows what their demands will be this time? There should have being a better way to deal with this but in Nigeria, common sense isn't so common!

Anonymous said...

Aswear the tori long

APPLELIPX said...

Insurgency will.never end cos of.mews like this
Linda for crying out loud u don't jst publish evrytin u see...

Some things are just meant to.be secret..... how will govt work well to put an end to this terror group wen u all keep xposing their plans to d haramites

Anonymous said...

Even if they bring dem am sure those gurls will become nuisance †o the society

Anonymous said...

ICRC talk about the criminals but I dint see them assure the safety or even seen our girls.....never negotiate with terrorists.its senseless.its not like dis deal will end the insurgence.they dint start by kidnapping girls,why is d fight suddenly all about the girls.it wount be the end...ICRC back off please

Anonymous said...

tnk u jare. no gurls were kidnapped.

APPLE said...

Really??!!

Unknown said...

Hmmmm God help us in dis 1

Unknown said...

They are no longer girls biko. Bring back our women

Anonymous said...

You are for anything EWU why don't you go to Sambisa forest?. Pretending like a good man. Go to sambisa

Unknown said...

We are still on a long thing with a long story

BORN TO SHINE!!!

Anonymous said...

No be today

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