It has been five months since nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped by the terrorist group Boko Haram, and more than 200 of them are still missing.
In mid-August, four months after the girls were abducted, Nigerian government officials tried again to negotiate with Boko Haram for their release, according to CNN. Nigerian officials met with senior members of Boko Haram four times, but so far there has been no agreement.
Boko Haram wanted 30 of its members released from prison in exchange for 30 girls. They provided a list of names, which included Kabiru Sokoto, who was involved in a Christmas Day bombing of a church in Madallah in 2011.
But the Nigerian government didn’t accept the terms.
“They [Boko Haram] were only ready to release one to one, which the government was not going to accept,” a source who wanted anonymity told CNN.
Boko Haram also wanted to meet with the 30 members it wanted released, but only six could be located.
In mid-April, nearly 300 schoolgirls were abducted in a violent raid in Chibok, Nigeria. Since then, dozens of girls have escaped, while more men, women and children have been abducted from surrounding villages.
