The BBC and other international media outlets reported a statement yesterday by Chief of Defense Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh on Sunday at the Nigerian armed forces had found the girls but could not yet release details.
As quoted in Al Jazeera English,
“The good news for the parents of the girls is that we know where they are, but we cannot tell you,” Badeh was quoted as saying. “But where they are held, can we go there with force? We can’t kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back.”
Most Nigerian officials think any raid to rescue them would be fraught with danger and probably not worth the risk that the girls would be killed by their captors.
Since the girls were captured in April, at least 470 civilians have been killed by Boko Haram, which says it is fighting to establish an Islamic state in the north of Nigeria.
The BBC also reported on Monday that a deal was close to being agreed to rescue the girls in exchange for Boko Haram prisoners – a demand the group had made public – but that it was called off at the last minute.
Over the weekend, Senate President David Mark, the country’s number three, ruled out doing a deal with Boko Haram.
“This government cannot negotiate with criminals and … will not exchange people for criminals. A criminal will be treated like a criminal,” he was quoted by local media as saying.” Read more here.
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