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Nigeria and Boko Haram agree ceasefire, abducted schoolgirls to be released Abducted schoolgirls 'to be released' as Nigeria and Boko Haram agree ceasefire
(about 1 hour later)
The girls abducted earlier this year by African Islamist group Boko Haram will be released following a ceasefire agreement with the Nigerian military. The Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped earlier this year by Islamist militant group Boko Haram look set to be released following a ceasefire agreement with the Nigerian military.
Alex Badeh, Nigeria's chief of defence staff, announced the truce. This truce, for which direct negotiations had been held in neighbouring Chad, marks the end of a five-year conflict between the Nigerian government and the Islamist insurgents.
“I wish to inform this audience that a ceasefire agreement has been concluded,” chief of defence staff Alex Badeh announced at the end of a three day security meeting between Nigeria and Cameroon.
It appears as though the 219 school girls that are being held captive by Boko Haram will be released, although a Defence Ministry spokesman said that part of the negotiations still needs to be finalised.
He was “assured that the schoolgirls and all other people in their captivity are all alive and well”.
Nigerian presidential aide Hassan Tukur told the BBC: "They've assured us they have the girls and they will release them. I am cautiously optimistic."
He said arrangements for their release would be finalised at a meeting next week in Chad.
On April 15, Boko Haram – which means ‘education is sinful' – raided a school in the remote north-eastern town of Chibok, kidnapping 276 school girls and women. Dozens escaped in the days after the abduction.
This act brought the group international notoriety, with world leaders condemning the kidnapping and internet activists launching the global social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls.
Boko Haram had demanded the release of detained extremists in exchange for the girls, but Nigeria president Goodluck Jonathan would not swap prisoners.
President Jonathan has come under fire in his country for failing to handle the threat of Boko Haram, which has reportedly killed 13,000 civilians in the years since 2009.
After insurgent success, Boko Haram began seizing and holding territory in the northeast of Nigeria, declaring a caliphate similar to that of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
In recent weeks, however, the Nigerian military has taken back towns from the extremists and is thought to have killed hundreds of Boko Haram militants.
Mike Omeri, the Nigerian government’s spokesman on the kidnappings, said: "Already, the terrorists have announced a cease-fire in furtherance of their desire for peace. In this regard, the government of Nigeria has, in similar vein, declared a cease-fire.”
"Commitment among parts of Boko Haram and the military does appear to be genuine. It is worth taking seriously," a security source told Reuters.
That source said, however, that it is unlikely that the ceasefire extends to all factions of the Boko Haram group.
"There are some talks but it depends on the buy-in of the whole group. I would be surprised if Shekau had suddenly changed his mind and is ready for a ceasefire," the source said.
The government was negotiating with Danladi Ahmadu, a man calling himself the secretary-general of Boko Haram, the presidency source said. It was not clear if Ahmadu is part of the same faction as Shekau.
Boko Haram has not made a public statement.Boko Haram has not made a public statement.
The Nigerian military has been fighting with jihadist group Boko Haram since 2009. The Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria had for months been neglected by the western media following the emergence of Isis in the Middle East and more recently the Ebola outbreak in west Africa.
In April of this year, Boko Haram raided a school in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria, kidnapping more than 200 female students. But, on Monday, major British politicians signed a letter that called for action against Boko Haram, and for the rescue of their captives.
The government had been criticised for failing to ensure the girls release. Former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Lord Ashdown classed Boko Haram alongside Isis as a part of  a “growing, well-organised international terror network that poses a direct threat to UK national security.”
More to follow
  
Additional reporting from Reuters