An Australian expert, Dr. Stephen Davis, who has advised three Nigerian presidents on how to negotiate with the country’s militant groups, has opened up on the ordeal of the over 200 students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, abducted and held by Boko Haram terrorists since April 14.

Davies, who spent the past month trying to help free the girls, told Britain’s The Mail on Sunday: “One of that small group of girls is ill and we had hoped we might convince the commander of the group holding her that she should be released so we could give her medical treatment.

“There are other girls who are not well and we have come close to having them released but their captors fear a trap in which they will be captured in the handover process.

“One girl has what I assume is a broken wrist as they demonstrate to me how she holds her hand. I have been told that others are sick and in need of medical attention.”

Contrary to the impression given by the Nigerian military and the Presidency that the abducted girls are being held in one location, Davies said: “The vast majority of the Chibok girls are not being held in Nigeria.

‘They are in camps across the Nigerian border in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. I say the ‘vast majority’ as I know a small group was confirmed to me to be in Nigeria last week when we sought to have them released.”

The paper quoted a military source as saying: ‘This has been a race against time from the minute they were captured. As soon as the girls left Nigerian soil it was always going to be more difficult.

‘The government made no attempt at a rescue until a month after they were taken. Now the situation gets more serious by the day.

‘Any sort of attempt to get to them would have to be cleared by the governments of the other nations.’

President Goodluck Jonathan had about two weeks ago suddenly called off a prison swap deal with Boko Haram that would have seen the release of the schoolgirls, reportedly basing his action on the advice of United States President Barack Obama and other Western leaders, who have convinced him that it is wrong to negotiate with terrorists.

However, in what exposed the hypocrisy of the Western leaders, Obama on Saturday swapped five terrorists for one United States soldier despite repeated claims that the country would never negotiate with terrorists.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau had last month offered to exchange the abducted girls for his imprisoned members but Jonathan, swallowing the advice of America, Britain and France, have continued to insist that his government will not negotiate with terrorists, thus putting the lives of the abducted Chibok girls in great danger.

•Photo shows some of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, as seen in a video recently released by Boko Haram.