TheCable

Credible sources have informed TheCable that Boko Haram leaders are angry over the leak of the video of 15 Chibok girls to the media.

CNN had obtained the video which, it reported, had been seen by negotiators and government officials.

The American news network then showed the clip to some of the Chibok parents ahead of the second anniversary of the kidnappings on Thursday.

In the video, apparently recorded in December 2015, the girls, who said they were speaking on behalf of their colleagues, expressed the desire to be reunited with their families.

However, security sources told TheCable that Boko Haram leaders are said to be “livid” over the media leak which they consider as “treachery” because “it was never intended for broadcast”.

They are reportedly accusing the government of “cheating” because the video was only recorded as “proof of life” for the negotiators.

The sources said the insurgents have warned of “dire consequences” over the leak – without going into specifics.

“They think the government and the media are not genuinely interested in the girls’ freedom,” one of the security sources told TheCable.

There are strong suspicions in intelligence circles that the girls have been divided into different groups among different Boko Haram “divisions” – and the latest video is proof that they are probably in batches of 15 or less.

It is thought that with the latest video, one group is only trying to negotiate using the girls in its care.

Federal government officials are sceptical about negotiating with unknown elements to avoid the billion-naira industry that was created around it under the past administration.

Pictures of five of the girls were reportedly shown to government officials by negotiators in January 2016 by another group of negotiators.