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Boko Haram releases dozens of Chibok schoolgirls, say Nigerian officials | Boko Haram releases dozens of Chibok schoolgirls, say Nigerian officials |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Boko Haram militants have released 83 schoolgirls out of a group of more than 200 kidnapped from the north-eastern town of Chibok in April 2014, officials in Nigeria have said. | |
An unnamed government minister said 83 girls had been released. | |
“The girls were released through negotiations with the government,” one official said, adding that an official statement would follow shortly. | “The girls were released through negotiations with the government,” one official said, adding that an official statement would follow shortly. |
“Huge numbers,” the personal assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, tweeted late on Saturday. | |
A military source said the girls were currently in Banki near the Cameroon border for medical checks before being airlifted to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. | A military source said the girls were currently in Banki near the Cameroon border for medical checks before being airlifted to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. |
Family members said they were eagerly awaiting a list of names and that their “hopes and expectations are high”. | |
The kidnapping was one of the high-profile incidents of Boko Haram’s insurgency, now in its eighth year and with little sign of ending. About 220 girls were abducted from their school in a night-time attack. | |
More than 20 girls were released last October in a deal brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Others have escaped or been rescued, but 195 were believed to be still in captivity prior to this release. | More than 20 girls were released last October in a deal brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Others have escaped or been rescued, but 195 were believed to be still in captivity prior to this release. |
President Buhari said last month that the government was in talks to secure the release of the remaining captives. | |
The abduction of the schoolgirls led to a series of campaigns calling for their release or rescue. A march on the Nigerian parliament with protesters dressed in red and promoted on Twitter under the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls quickly attracted global attention, with Michelle Obama among those offering their support. | |
Although the Chibok girls are the most high-profile case, Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of adults and children, many of whose cases have been neglected. | Although the Chibok girls are the most high-profile case, Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of adults and children, many of whose cases have been neglected. |
The militants have killed more than 20,000 people and displaced more than 2 million during their insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in north-east Nigeria. | The militants have killed more than 20,000 people and displaced more than 2 million during their insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in north-east Nigeria. |
Although the army has retaken much of the territory initially lost to Boko Haram, large parts of the north-east, particularly in Borno state, remain under threat from the militants. Suicide bombings and gun attacks have increased in the region since the end of the rainy season late last year. | Although the army has retaken much of the territory initially lost to Boko Haram, large parts of the north-east, particularly in Borno state, remain under threat from the militants. Suicide bombings and gun attacks have increased in the region since the end of the rainy season late last year. |
Timeline: Chibok schoolgirls’ kidnapping | |
April 2014 Boko Haram extremists kidnap 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in northern Nigeria, the region where the insurgency emerged several years ago. | |
November 2014 Extremists seize Chibok and the Nigerian army takes back the town. | |
May 2015 The new president, Muhammadu Buhari, is sworn in, pledging to tackle Boko Haram “head on”. | |
13 April 2016 A Boko Haram video appears to show some of the Chibok girls, and tearful mothers recognise their daughters. | |
18 May, 2016 A relative says one of the Chibok girls is found, pregnant, in a forest; pressure grows on Nigeria’s government to rescue the others. | |
14 August 2016 Boko Haram video says some Chibok girls have been killed in airstrikes and demands release of extremists in exchange for the remaining girls’ freedom. | |
13 October 2016 A spokesman for Nigeria’s president confirms that 21 Chibok girls have been freed, a result of government negotiations with Boko Haram. Nigeria’s government says another 83 girls would be released “very soon”. | |
5 November 2016 Military announces the first army rescue of a Chibok girl, during a raid on a forest hideout. | |
24 December 2016 Nigeria’s president declares that Boko Haram has been crushed, driven from its last forest hideout. | |
5 January 2017 Nigeria’s army says soldiers have found one of the schoolgirls wandering in the bush near the forest stronghold. | |
14 April 2017 Nigerians mark three years since the mass abduction. | |
6 May 2017 A Nigerian official says another 83 schoolgirls have been released. |