While the Nigerian government now has help from world powers in trying to locate the girls, Mr Sani, the negotiator, warned that it could be dangerous to try to free them by force. “A military action towards rescuing them is most likely to turn very tragic,” he said. “My personal belief is that if we can get clerics from northern Nigeria and members of the insurgent group who have already been imprisoned together in dialogue, then some channels for negotiation could be opened.”