Nigeria schoolgirls kidnapping: Boko Haram to announce list of key militants it wants freed

Exclusive: Group that kidnapped more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls will appoint cleric to mediate with government

The possibility of a prisoner swap emerged after Boko Haram released a video showing around 130 of the more than 200 girls in captivity, gathered by a tree in a patch of bushland. The video was the first public evidence that the group has custody of the girls.

Boko Haram is preparing to announce a list of key militants that it wants released in exchange for its schoolgirl hostages, The Telegraph has learned.

Sources close to the group say that an Islamic cleric from northern Nigeria will be authorised to negotiate on its behalf with the Nigerian government, and to seek a freed prisoner for every one of the kidnapped girls.

The name of the cleric involved and of the key commanders to be freed is expected to be revealed as early as Wednesday.

The group will give the cleric "clear terms of reference" for how it wants the negotiations to be conducted, and will also spell out the practical details of how it would set the girls free.