Twenty one of the more than 200 female students of the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno state who were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in April 2014 have been released to the Nigerian government.
The girls were said to have been picked up by military helicopter from Banki area of Borno state where Boko Haram militants dropped them off earlier today, Thursday.
Senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu confirmed the release of the girls but did not give details of their names.
In a text message, Garba Shehu said that the girls are now in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
He said that the Director-General of DSS, Malam Lawal Daura had just finished briefing President Muhammadu Buhari, who is due to fly to Germany any moment from now, adding that the release of the girls, in a limited number, is the outcome of negotiations between the administration and the Boko Haram. The negotiation, he added was brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government.
Garba Shehu said that President Buhari was elated by the development and that the negotiation for the release of the remaining girls still in Boko Haram’s captivity is ongoing.
The DSS boss was quoted as saying that he wanted the girls to have some rest, with all of them very tired coming out of the process before he hands them over to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. He promised to soon give the names of the released girls.
“We are getting security right. We are stopping corruption in its tracks and we will get the economy right by the Grace of God,” Garba Shehu quoted President Buhari as saying. [myad]
