senior members of Boko Haram in Nigeria's capital,
Abuja.
The swap would involve the released of 30 Boko
Haram commanders in the custody of the Nigerian
government, according to the source, who asked not
to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Boko Haram submitted a list with the names of 30
members who were either convicted or awaiting trial
on terror offenses.
"The two Boko Haram negotiators assured the
ICRC and government negotiators that the girls
were never raped, were never used as sex slaves
and were never sexually assaulted," said the
source, who attended the discussions.
The terror group abducted an estimated 276 girls in
April from a boarding school in Chibok in
northeastern Nigeria. Dozens escaped, but more
than 200 are still missing. Boko Haram has
expressed a willingness for a swap with the ICRC at
an undisclosed, according to the source. But there
was disagreement on some terms, including the
number of girls involved in the swap.
Boko Haram had insisted on an even swap -- 30
girls for the 30 commanders -- but the government
refused, according to the source.
"They were only ready to release one to one,
which the government was not going to accept,"
the source said.
Another hurdle in the talks was Boko Haram's
insistence on meeting the imprisoned 30 members
involved in the swap, but they only had contact with
six at a prison outside Abuja, the source said.
The six prisoners included Kabiru Sokoto, a senior
Boko Haram commander convicted in December
2013 of terror charges related to the deadly Christmas
Day bombing of a church in the town of Madallah in
2011.
"ICRC couldn't find where the remaining 24 were
being detained," the source said.
The Boko Haram negotiators said they would get
back to the government after consulting with
superiors.ICRC sources declined to comment.
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