Suspected Boko Haram terrorists holding more than 50 abducted residents in Borno State have called on the Federal Government to negotiate their release through a journalist they selected as mediator, according to families of the victims.

The development comes as the Defence Headquarters assured Nigerians that efforts were ongoing to secure the safe release of abducted schoolchildren and other captives.

Speaking on Friday, the spokesperson for the families, Hassan Yati, said the kidnappers had sent proof-of-life photographs and voice notes confirming that the victims were alive.

“We received voice notes telling us they are alive and many in captivity, more than the number we are asking. We learnt they are over 50 in numbers there,” Yati said.

“Government should reach out to them through a journalist mediator they have chosen, whose name I am withholding.”

He said the families were willing to cooperate with the authorities by providing all information received from the abductors.

“If the government reaches out to us, we will link them up with the journalist and they can pick it from there,” he added.

Yati said the group’s demands extended beyond ransom payments, urging both the Federal Government and the Borno State Government to engage the kidnappers in the interest of the victims’ families.

“The demand of the terrorists is simple. Let the government engage them through the mediator they chose already,” he said.

The victims include 13 passengers abducted while travelling from Biu to Maiduguri on April 15, among them a seven-month-old baby and her mother, a pregnant woman with a three-year-old child, a couple, recent graduates, students and two siblings who reportedly travelled in the boot of a vehicle because they could not afford transport fares.

Meanwhile, concerns have continued to grow over 78 schoolchildren abducted in separate attacks on schools in Askira Uba Local Government Area.

On May 16, suspected Boko Haram fighters abducted 42 pupils during an attack on Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School, while another 36 students and a teacher were kidnapped during an attack on Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, on June 29.

Civil society groups and parents have criticised what they described as inadequate communication from the authorities regarding rescue efforts.

Chairman of the Network of Civil Society Organisations in Borno State, Abubakar Suleiman, urged the government to provide regular updates on efforts to rescue the victims.

“For someone to be in captivity for more than two months, that is really horrific. We want the government to respond more quickly and provide clear updates about the situation of the missing children,” he said.

Responding to the concerns, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, said the military had not abandoned the victims.

“They can never be forgotten. The military is doing everything possible to get them released and hopefully, it will soon happen,” Onoja said.

He added that troops under Operation HADIN KAI had put measures in place to ensure the safe release of the abducted victims.