Presidency disowns Australian Boko Haram negotiator

THE Presidency has nothing to do with Dr Stephen Davis, the Australian who was reported to be negotiating with Boko Haram insurgents to free the over 200 girls the terrorists abducted in Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State on April 14. This is according to the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, who denied government’s knowledge of the negotiation when the Nigerian Tribune sought to confirm the authenticity of the claims made by Dr Davis, published in the United Kingdom-based MailOnline. Abati pointed out that the Defence Headquarters had already distanced the military from the purported negotiation, saying that the position of the presidency could not be different from the military because “the military is directly responsible for the operation and takes instructions from the president.” According to the tabloid, Dr Davis had left his home in Perth to travel to Nigeria, after being recruited by President Goodluck Jonathan for his hostage negotiation expertise and Davis was now desperately trying to free the schoolgirls. The medium reported that Dr Davis, a friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, had been working secretly in Nigeria for almost a month now, quoting the former Canon Emeritus at Coventry Cathedral in the UK, who moved back to Australia last year, to have said “I am encouraged by the progress.” It added that he was asked to come to Nigeria after previously brokering a truce between violent rebels and the government in the Niger Delta in 2004. MailOnline said in an email from Nigeria, the doctor revealed he had “ongoing contact” with the groups involved in the kidnapping in the North for seven years, adding that “this is a long process of building trust on both sides.” The report further quoted him as “there are several groups to deal with, as the girls are held in several camps. This makes any thought of a rescue highly improbable. To attempt to rescue one group would only endanger the others.” It noted that despite the difficulties of a rescue operation, Dr Davis remained hopeful that the schoolgirls would be freed, quoting him as saying, “everyday, there is the possibility of the release of the girls.” According to the MailOnline, Dr Davis warned: “we must not endanger their lives any further,” noting that his recent negotiation work has been to forward military position in the North- East in recent days.