‘Hope rises’ for release of Chibok schoolgirls

An Australian involved in the negotiation to free the abducted schoolgirls has raised the hopes of Nigerians but warned that time is running out.

Dr Stephen Davis told the Mail on Sunday that he had been involved in hostage negotiation in Nigeria since 2004, starting with the Niger Delta militants.

“Every day there is the possibility of the release of the girls,” the medical doctor told the British newspaper.

Hundreds of girls, whose actual number is now unknown  but estimated at 276, were kidnapped from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2104.

Five of them have fled their captors ─ or released.

Davis, who is said to be a friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, further said: “I am encouraged by the progress.”

He has already made contact with the militants but acknowledged that “it is a long process of building trust on both sides”.

He said: “There are several groups to deal with as the girls are held in several camps. This makes any thought of a rescue highly improbable. To attempt to rescue one group would only endanger the others.

“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.”

He said the military was doing all its best but warned that “we must not endanger their lives any further”.

“The vast majority of the Chibok girls are not being held in Nigeria,” Davis told the newspaper.

“They are in camps across the Nigerian border in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. 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.

“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 is 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.”

The Mail on Sunday also said it saw a video footage of the schoolgirls in which they spoke bravely about their situation in the captivity.

The girls in the video look healthy, it reported, but several pupils have fallen ill. One with a broken wrist.

It said four of them can be heard clearly speaking Hausa, stating that they were taken by force and complaining of hunger.

A tall girl, aged about 18, says tearfully: “My family will be so worried.”

Another, speaking softly, says: “I never expected to suffer like this in my life.”

A third says: “They have taken us away by force.”

The fourth girl complains: “We are not getting enough food.”