Updated May 7
82 girls from Chibok in Nigeria who were kidnapped in 2014 by Boko Haram were freed on Saturday, May 6, a spokesperson for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement.
The statement said the girls were released in exchange for Boko Haram suspects detained by authorities. The BBC reported that two blindfolded men were taken in the convoy which met the girls in a remote forested area. The girls were then brought to Banki, in Borno state, near the border with Cameroon.
A happy site for families missing loved ones: Some of the 82 released #ChibokGirls board an aircraft. pic.twitter.com/9yiJOUocQe
— ICRC Africa (@ICRC_Africa) May 7, 2017
Earlier, an unnamed source told Sahara Reporters the freed girls were in Banki in Borno state, near the border with Cameroon.
Buhari’s statement expressed “deep gratitude” to various agencies involved in the release including the government of Switzerland, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and local and international NGOs.
5 Boko Haram commanders for 82 Chibok girls. Negotiations were in Switzerland and Sudan, @shehusani told me, but BH reps only went to Sudan. https://t.co/i1kOx4ETT7
— Ruth Maclean (@ruthmaclean) May 7, 2017
Acting as a neutral intermediary, we @ICRC transported 82 #ChibokGirls to the government of #Nigeria. pic.twitter.com/FTiAnjXejq
— ICRC Africa (@ICRC_Africa) May 7, 2017
The girls are due to arrive in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Sunday.
A group of 276 schoolgirls were abducted in north-eastern Nigeria three years ago. More than 50 girls quickly escaped, and a further 21 were released last October, after negotiations with the Red Cross. Before Saturday’s release, around 195 were still missing.
Last month, Grasswire spoke to UNICEF about abductions, and Boko Haram forcing girls to become suicide bombers in west Africa.