File photo of members of Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram. (Agence France-Presse)
Nigeria's official news agency says the government and Islamic extremists from Boko Haram have agreed to an immediate cease-fire.
It quotes the chief of defense staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, as ordering his troops to immediately comply with the agreement.
The news comes as another official confirmed there had been direct negotiations this week in neighboring Chad about the release of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he said an official statement will be released later Friday.
Boko Haram has been demanding the release of detained extremists in exchange for the girls.
The group attracted international condemnation with the April kidnapping of nearly 300 girls from a boarding school in northeast Chibok town. Dozens escaped but 219 remain missing.