Nigeria urges UN help to save kidnapped schoolgirls

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday urged the United Nations to liaise with Abuja and Boko Haram militants over the release of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted from their dormitory in April 2014.

“The challenge is in getting credible and bona fide leadership of Boko Haram to discuss with,” a statement released Thursday by presidential spokesman Femi Adesina quoted Buhari as saying in a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

“The split in the insurgent group is not helping matters. Government had reached out, ready to negotiate, but it became difficult to identify credible leaders. We will welcome intermediaries such as UN outfits, to step in,” the statement added.

The president's comment comes roughly two months after militants from the Abubakar Shekau faction of the group showed dozens of girls, saying they would only release them through a neutral negotiator in exchange for some of their colleagues being held in government prisons.

Abuja has since accepted to swap the girls through negotiators sanctioned by both parties.

Boko Haram has been blamed for abducting thousands of people, including women and children, but the 2014 kidnapping of the schoolgirls in the northeastern Chibok town has been the most discussed of its abductions.

A #BringBackOurGirls movement has continued to push for the girls’ freedom.