In that time, only one girl has escaped.
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Her mother spoke exclusively to the BBC about what her daughter’s life was like under the militant group. “A girl is picked out to answer questions about who she is and she gives her name as Maida Yakubu”.
“We are not happy living here”, Yakubu says.
Dozens of the kidnapped school girls made famous by the hashtag campaign #BringBackOurGirls in 2014 have been killed in airstrikes, according to a video released by the girl’s captors.
The militant says the rest of the captives will never be released alive if his demands are not met.
The two other parents, who travelled with Galang to Mubi, were able to identify their daughters in the video.
“The government’s position is clear that we are in touch with them”.
He said, “The offer by Salkida to mediate in the aftermath of the video release is a move to place him in the good books of the federal government knowing that he has been an accomplice to terror all along. May God grant us peace”. You have just been lying about these girls, people should know that.
“Presently, some of the girls are crippled, some are terribly sick and some of them, as I had said, died during bombardment by the Nigerian military”, the fighter says, appearing before a group of more than 40 young women in hijabs, some holding babies. We will show you a video of how your own aircraft dropped a bomb that killed some of these girls. You see your child but someone denies you from having it.
“We are engaging them”.
The fleeing fighters see better prospects of survival with ISIS as opposed to remaining with a decimated group, whose members are being flushed out daily by the military. Some people have said they are no more alive. “This is what we know”. By saying we are talking to them, I am talking from a point of knowledge.
Officials are wary, noting previous negotiations have failed because officials have been duped into talks with the wrong people. We have not sent any other persons.
“The military decision is that we are going ahead with our operations”. Please try. We have been patient.
A father of one of the girls still missing said he recognised his daughter in the video, as a spokesman for the Bring Back Our Girls movement said he was “certain” of the identities of 10 other girls seen in the footage.
The parting shot at President Buhari mocks the Nigerian military’s frequent statements that Boko Haram has been contained or crippled.
However, investigation conducted by our correspondent revealed that Salkida who is based in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, would arrive the country within the week.
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A cache of arms and ammunitions were recovered from the insurgents, he said. This is the intellectual wing of Boko Haram at work and the government, military and security forces must immediately counter this. There has also been a resurgence of polio in areas that had been under Boko Haram’s control.
