- Several sources have disclosed that a wider window of opportunity to end the Boko Haram menace was opened with the successful release of the Dapchi girls

- The presidency reportedly made use of those who had been involved in securing the release of some of the Chibok girls to negotiate with the Al-Barnawy faction

- The government is reportedly planning to leverage on this and call for a ceasefire with Al-Barnawy, while it also tries to make inroads with the Shekau faction

Sources in the center of talks that led to the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls have disclosed that the negotiation processes have opened a “wider window” of opportunity that would lead to the end of the 10-year protracted Boko Haram crisis, Daily Trust reports.

NAIJ.com gathers that different sources gave insights into the matter, and revealed the federal government's plans to leverage on the success of Dapchi and resolve the Boko Haram situation.

One such source reportedly stated: “Different conflicts have different ways of ending. The Boko Haram crisis had suffered deficit of mediation capacity.

READ ALSO: Dapchi girl recounts ordeal with Boko Haram captor

“In the last four, five years, you could say absolutely, that there was no avenue to ending the crisis; perhaps the country itself was not prepared to deal with it. But once the process was in place, it worked, with a lot of frustrations and a lot of setbacks.

“One of these was to gain the confidence of the Nigerian state that some elements of this conflict can be negotiated.

“For example, the kidnap of the Chibok girls and other people; another one is that it can succeed without necessarily invoking huge hostility from interests that see it as compromise or a defeat; and number three was political will.”

Making further disclosure, another source reportedly stated that those who played a role in the release of the Dapchi Girls were also actively involved in the release of the Chibok girls, the oil explorers from the University of Maiduguri as well as the women that were abducted while conveying the corpse of a police woman to her village in Borno state for burial.

He stated: “For now, the Al-Barnawy faction is more amenable to the truce; it is still a long way to go but if all things go well, they would drop their arms. It is still tricky with the Abubakar Shekau faction as far as ending the crisis is concerned, but hope is not lost.

“Remember, it is the Shekau faction that released the Chibok girls and the women escorting the corpse of the police woman and on the other hand, it was the Al-Barnawy faction that released the Unimaid staff and the Dapchi girls, so the approach is nearly the same."

The source stated that the government was planning to call for a ceasefire; especially with the Al-Barnawy faction, and that Nigerian forces would also reduce aerial offensives. He added: “It is a difficult situation, but we would get there. You have seen how it worked out when the Dapchi girls were brought back, and how the military and other security agents acted.

“There is nowhere in the world that terrorism was ended at the battle front; no matter how, you must sit on the table and Nigeria cannot be an exception; the Boko Haram debacle should not be allowed to be a war of attrition. Remember the Nigerian Civil War lasted for three years; but here we are, fighting endlessly for nearly ten years.”

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that parents of the abducted Dapchi girls who were released by Boko Haram said the terrorists told them not to send their children back to western education.

The girls were released by the terrorists on Wednesday, March 21, and security operatives were not available as the insurgents reportedly drove into Dapchi town where residents celebrated the return of their children and praised President Muhammadu Buhari.

Upon arrival, the terrorists reportedly took their time to preach to the residents.

Dapchi protests abduction of their daughters by Boko Haram - on NAIJ.com TV:

Source: Naija.ng

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