Nigeria 'ready for dialogue' with Boko Haram

 Nigeria's government has said it is ready to hold talks with Boko
Haram to secure the release of more than 200 girls abducted from their
school last month.


Special Duties Minister Taminu Turaki told the AFP news agency "The window of negotiation is still open."


Turaki, who last year headed a committee pursuing an amnesty pact
with some Boko Haram fighters, said "Nigeria has always been willing to
dialogue with the insurgents."

 "We are willing to carry that dialogue on any issue, including the
girls kidnapped in Chibok, because certainly we are not going to say
that [the abduction] is not an issue," he said.


The minister's statement came a day after the Boko Haram released a video in
which its leader Abubakar Shekau said the girls abducted last month
from a secondary school would be released once Nigeria freed all the
Boko Haram prisoners it had in custody.


But that proposal was rejected by the Nigerian government. The United
States has also opposed any swap with the US State Department
spokeswoman Jen Psaki saying the US' policy was "to deny kidnappers the
benefits of their criminal acts, including ransoms or concessions".


The commander of US forces in Africa has flown to Nigeria to discuss how Washington can help the hunt for the kidnapped girls.

Nigeria 'ready for dialogue' with Boko Haram - Africa - Al Jazeera English