Growing military pressure on Nigeria’s
Boko Haram Islamists has raised hopes that they may free some of their
schoolgirl hostages as part of a deal to escape being hunted down and
killed.
As the anniversary
approaches of the group’s kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from
the town of Chibok on April 14, diplomats say the sole chance of any of
the girls being released alive is if cornered commanders opt to use them
as “bargaining chips”.
The girls’
plight drew worldwide attention last year, thanks partly to the
BringBackOurGirls social media campaign endorsed by Michelle Obama and
numerous celebrities. But even with the help of Western military spy
planes and hostage negotiation experts, they have remained well beyond the reach of the Nigerian authorities.
It is widely believed they were split early on into dozens of smaller
groups, making any rescue attempt on one group liable to invite brutal
retaliation against others.
However,
diplomats have now told The Telegraph that recent military gains
against the group may have pushed it to the point where some of its
individual leaders may be willing to negotiate to save their own skins.
Nigerian and Chadian troops fighting on either side of the border have
retaken several towns seized by Boko Haram as “caliphates”, and many of
the group’s commanders are now scattered and on the run. Some are
believed to have groups of the girls in their custody, and may be
prepared to free them now that they are in a position of weakness.
The alternative would be to face continued determined hounding from the
Nigerian military and the prospect of no mercy if caught. Given how the
tide of battle has turned against them, that may seem a scarier
prospect than the risks from Boko Haram’s leaders, Abubakr Shekau, for
co-operating with the authorities.
“If pressure is maintained, that is one of the ways that the girls could find freedom,” one Western diplomat told The Telegraph. “For some of these armed groups, they could be bargaining chips for some kind of settlement with the authorities.”
Such a move might also open up the way for a longer-term settlement brokered by Nigeria’s new president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, who beat Goodluck Jonathan in last month’s presidential elections.
While more extreme elements like Shekau himself are seen as “irreconcilable”, it is thought some kind of amnesty would persuade many of rank and file fighters to lay down their weapons, especially if combined with offers of jobs and economic development in the dirt-poor areas of northern Nigeria where they live. The diplomat added: “It is at an early stage, but that is a strategy that we would support.”
Diplomats say that last reliable sighting of the hostages was a group of 20-30 girls at an abandoned school compound around town of Gwoza, near Nigeria’s mountain border with Cameroon, in September last year, which was taken by “eye in the sky” satellite planes. While none of the girls were positively identified, they were being watched over by Boko Haram bodyguards, suggesting they were “high value” captives.
Mr Buhari, a former general who served as a military ruler of Nigeria in the mid-1980s, made the issue of tackling Boko Haram a key part of his election strategy. Diplomats hope he will prove more engaged in the task than Mr Jonathan’s government, who only upped the campaign against his military campaign against Boko Haram in the months immediately before the polls.
A British military source said that Mr Jonathan’s government had done relatively little with the “vast amounts of intelligence” supplied to by RAF Sentinel spy planes and Tornados. The RAF was involved in the hunt for the girls until late last year, when increasing demands for their use in Iraq and Syria saw them diverted elsewhere.
“We were not seeing a great clamour from the Nigerian authorities to sort this out,” the source said.
Since the girls’ kidnapping, various attempts have been made to free them via back-channel negotiations, most of which foundered amid opposition from the Nigerian government, which did not wish to be seen to bow to Boko Haram’s demands to exchange them for jailed militants.
Shehu Sani, a Nigerian civil rights activist involved in past dialogue attempts with the group, said he agreed with the diplomats’ assessments that the playing field against Boko Haram had now tilted.
“The girls are now the insurgents’ last cards, and the best time to reach out to them for dialogue is when they are seriously under pressure,” he said.
Originally published on:
The Telegraph
“If pressure is maintained, that is one of the ways that the girls could find freedom,” one Western diplomat told The Telegraph. “For some of these armed groups, they could be bargaining chips for some kind of settlement with the authorities.”
Such a move might also open up the way for a longer-term settlement brokered by Nigeria’s new president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, who beat Goodluck Jonathan in last month’s presidential elections.
While more extreme elements like Shekau himself are seen as “irreconcilable”, it is thought some kind of amnesty would persuade many of rank and file fighters to lay down their weapons, especially if combined with offers of jobs and economic development in the dirt-poor areas of northern Nigeria where they live. The diplomat added: “It is at an early stage, but that is a strategy that we would support.”
Diplomats say that last reliable sighting of the hostages was a group of 20-30 girls at an abandoned school compound around town of Gwoza, near Nigeria’s mountain border with Cameroon, in September last year, which was taken by “eye in the sky” satellite planes. While none of the girls were positively identified, they were being watched over by Boko Haram bodyguards, suggesting they were “high value” captives.
Mr Buhari, a former general who served as a military ruler of Nigeria in the mid-1980s, made the issue of tackling Boko Haram a key part of his election strategy. Diplomats hope he will prove more engaged in the task than Mr Jonathan’s government, who only upped the campaign against his military campaign against Boko Haram in the months immediately before the polls.
A British military source said that Mr Jonathan’s government had done relatively little with the “vast amounts of intelligence” supplied to by RAF Sentinel spy planes and Tornados. The RAF was involved in the hunt for the girls until late last year, when increasing demands for their use in Iraq and Syria saw them diverted elsewhere.
“We were not seeing a great clamour from the Nigerian authorities to sort this out,” the source said.
Since the girls’ kidnapping, various attempts have been made to free them via back-channel negotiations, most of which foundered amid opposition from the Nigerian government, which did not wish to be seen to bow to Boko Haram’s demands to exchange them for jailed militants.
Shehu Sani, a Nigerian civil rights activist involved in past dialogue attempts with the group, said he agreed with the diplomats’ assessments that the playing field against Boko Haram had now tilted.
“The girls are now the insurgents’ last cards, and the best time to reach out to them for dialogue is when they are seriously under pressure,” he said.
Originally published on:
The Telegraph
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