Nigeria aims for release of kidnapped schoolgirls by Tuesday

Nigeria aims to have secured the release of 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram armed fighters by Tuesday, a senior source at the presidency told Reuters on Saturday, although he declined to comment on where the transfer would take place.

"I can confirm that FG [the federal government] is working hard to meet its own part of the agreement so that the release of the abductees can by effected either on Monday or latest Tuesday next week," the source told Reuters by telephone.

The head of Nigeria's military, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, announced on Friday that authorities had reached a deal with Boko Haram for a cease-fire that would enable the release of the girls, who were kidnapped while taking exams in a secondary school from the remote northeastern town of Chibok in April.

Officials at the presidency and the military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Boko Haram, which conveys messages in videotaped speeches by a man claiming to be its leader, Abubakar Shekau, has also not yet commented on the cease-fire.

Some Nigerians are likely to greet claims of a cease-fire with skepticism after five years of violence. Since the girls' abduction, Nigeria's military has twice claimed to have rescued some or all of the girls, only to back-track hours later.

Several rounds of negotiations with Boko Haram have been attempted in recent years but they have never achieved a peace deal, partly because the group has several different factions.

“We are in a holding statement mode — cautiously optimistic and anxious for early evidence of veracity,” Obiageli Ezekwesili, the former Nigerian education minister who founded the Bring Back Our Girls campaign in Nigeria, told Al Jazeera. “Like many of you, I simply cannot afford another heart-shattering episode and so we are so praying that what we are all reading is true.” 

People in the hometown of the kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls say they are hopeful but skeptical about news of a cease-fire with the armed group who abducted the girls six months ago.

"We don't know how true it is until we prove it," Bana Lawan, chairman of Chibok Local Government Area, told the Associated Press. "We will know the negotiations were successful when we see the girls physically. And then we will know it is true. And then we will celebrate."

Community leader Pogu Bitrus says "people rejoiced, but with caution."

Al Jazeera and wire services