82 kidnapped Nigerian girls free after prisoner swap deal
Print Edition
EIGHTY-TWO of over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria in 2014 arrived in Abuja yesterday after a prisoner swap deal secured their release.
Presidency spokesman Femi Adesina said the schoolgirls from Chibok, in Borno state, were met at the capital’s airport by President Muhammadu Buhari’s chief of staff Abba Kyari.
Military and civilian militia sources in the town of Banki, on the border with Cameroon, said the girls had left for Borno state capital Maiduguri on board six military helicopters at 6:10am.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which said it “facilitated the safe return” of the girls as a “neutral intermediary,” tweeted photographs of the girls boarding a military helicopter.
The presidency announced late on Saturday that months of talks with the jihadists had “yielded results” some six months after 21 other Chibok girls were freed with the help of international mediators.
A Nigerian government official says that five Boko Haram commanders were released in exchange for the Chibok girls.
The confirmation yesterday comes a day after the young women were liberated after more than three years in captivity by the Islamic militants.
There was no comment yet from the Nigerian presidency or Boko Haram, an extremist group linked to the Islamic State. The official who confirmed the release spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to reporters on the matter.
Authorities say 113 of the 276 girls abducted from their boarding school back in 2014 remain missing. Girls who escaped said some of their classmates had died from illness while others remained with their captors because they’d been radicalized.
Shehu Sani, a Nigerian senator who was involved in previous negotiations, said the talks lasted for “three to four months.” The government would now look to secure the release of the remaining hostages, he added.
The audacious kidnapping brought the insurgency to world attention, triggering global outrage that galvanized support from the former US first lady Michelle Obama and Hollywood stars.
Enoch Mark, whose two daughters were among those kidnapped, said: “This is good news to us. We have been waiting for this day. We hope the remaining girls will soon be released.”
The girls were brought back to the town in ICRC vehicles late on Saturday afternoon.
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