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Boko Haram release 21 Chibok schoolgirls with Nigerian officials confident more will follow

Negotiations are said to be continuing to bring home the rest of the kidnapped girls

Lucy Pasha-Robinson

Thursday 13 October 2016 20:16 BST

Campaigners have repeatedly called for Nigeria's government to bring back the missing girls (Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)

Islamist militant group Boko Haram has freed 21 Chibok schoolgirls, according to the Nigerian government.

The girls were released after a deal was brokered between the group and the International Red Cross and Swiss government.

Approximately 270 schoolgirls were kidnapped from the northern Nigerian town of Chibok by the extremist group in April 2014.

Dozens have since escaped but aeound 200 girls remain missing, causing global outrage.

Negotiations would continuing to bring home the rest of the girls, according to a statement from the President Muhammadu Buhari.

"It is the first step in what we believe will be the release of all the girls," Information Minister Lai Mohammed told reporters.

He denied reports that the government had swapped imprisoned Boko Haram fighters for their release and said he was not aware whether any ransom had been paid.

However the President’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, said the release was "the outcome of negotiations between the administration and Islamist militants", according to the BBC.

The Swiss government “facilitated contacts between representatives of the Nigerian government and intermediaries of Boko Haram” after a request from Abuja, a spokeswoman said in a statement.

“We have nothing to add,” she said, when asked if it had been a prisoner swap.

The girls were released at 5.30 am on Thursday and have been taken to the capital Abuja to meet doctors and psychologists, Mr Mohammed said.

In May, authorities announced one of the missing girls had been found, however there have been a number of similar reports in the past that proved to be false alarms.

A large-scale offensive in the Sambisa forest, one of Boko Haram’s remaining strongholds, was launched in the past days by the Nigerian military in the hopes of rescuing more of the girls.

Since the beginning of 2015, Nigeria's army, aided by troops from neighbouring countries, has recaptured most of Boko Haram’s territory, which was once equivalent to the size of Belgium.

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Show all 16

1/16Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Fifteen year old Nigerian refugee Fati, hugs her mother Mariam while carrying her sister, at the Minawao refugee camp in Northern Cameroon

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Fifteen year old Nigerian refugee Fati, carry her eight month old sister, who she last seen when she was 3 months old, at the Minawao refugee camp in Northern Cameroon. She was abducted by Boko Haram and spend four months in captivity. She was given to a man and forced to be his wife. She was eventually freed by Cameroonian soldiers and have been reunited with her family in a refugee camp in Cameroon

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Nigerian refugee's at the Minawao refugee camp in Northern Cameroon. The conflict in North-East Nigeria prompted by Boko Haram has led to widespread displacement, violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, protection risks and a severe humanitarian crisis. This is one of the fastest growing displacement crisis in Africa – one of the world’s most forgotten emergencies, with little attention from the donor community

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Nigerian refugee children at the Minawao refugee camp in Northern Cameroon

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Nigerian refugees line up to receive food aid at the Minawao refugee camp in Northern Cameroon

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Didja Damna (26) with her daughter, 17 month old Ngarvounsia, as she gets treatment at the Maroua hospital in Northern Cameroon

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Didja Damna (26) with her daughter , 17 month old Ngarvounsia, as she gets treatment at the Maroua hospital in Northern Cameroon. Didja have four other children and had her first child when she was sixteen. Ngarvounsia lost weight and have been treated for three day's in hospital and is recovering

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Fadi ,the wife of internally displaced Alagi Dubji feed her daughter, Ina Petal( 13 months) a peanut butter supplement, at their home in Maroua in Northern Cameroon. Ina received treatment for malnourishment and is doing well after she was discharged from the hospital. Alagi and his family had to flee from his village near Maroua after Boko Haram fighters burned down his house.Alagi had 40 children with 26 still alive

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

A malnourished girl gets treatment at the Maroua hospital in Northern Cameroon

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

More than 135 displacement sites have been noted along the border with Nigeria

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Temporary schools in the refugee camp of Kabelewa, counts eight classrooms for 549 pupils. Out of those 549 children, only 12 had already been to school before

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

As the river continues to dry up in April and May, we expect to see an increase in violence in the Diffa region. Both refugees and internally displaced people are affected by the insecurity, fleeing attacks and also fleeing to safer locations ahead of attacks. Generally noticed is a movement from locations near the border towards the inland area along the main road where spontaneous new sites are being created and host villages' population increasing

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Forced displacement in the region of Diffa is becoming regular and is linked to the volatile security situation in the region. Diffa, the Niger's poorest region, has been affected by the consequences of the increased acts of violence in Nigeria, conducted by the armed group Boko Haram, increasingly expanding and targeting the civilian population in Niger - and Diffa region in particular. With water levels starting to fall, the Nigeria-based armed group is seizing the opportunity to cross over the Komadougou River, into Niger from Nigeria

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Fatima Abubakar, 13, in Dar Es Salam refugee camp, Lake region of Chad. Fatima lost five family members during the attack of her small village in Nigeria, in the shores of the lake Chad. She now lives in Dar Es Salam refugee camp, in Chad, with her father, mother and 3 siblings, "The table was all set and we were just about to have our breakfast together when the gunshots started outside. We immediately left in panic. I escaped with my mother. We left in two pirogues. My mother’s pirogue had a whole and they put a cloth to stop the water from entering. But they had to come back to shore. I thought I would be forever alone and that my parents were dead. I cried for days. When I met them both days later in Ngouboua (an island in Chad) I couldn’t be happier. I sometimes think about our table, where the breakfast was served, and how the house would be now"

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Hafsa Mohammed sews in the UNICEF-supported child friendly space in Dar Es Salam refugee camp, Lake region of Chad. Every child’s future starts with a dream and Hafsa Mohammed, 16, has a very clear idea of what she wants to become. She wants to be a successful businesswoman and own a notions store. She now lives in Daresalam refugee camp, Lake region of Chad. “I have started again to sew. I used to do it back in Nigeria. My parents encouraged me to do it. It will be useful for me to start my own business and I would be happy to teach others as well,” explains Hafsa

UNICEF

Beyond Chibok: Report shows alarming trends in countries affected by Boko Haram

Salta Bintou Hassan is 11. She lost her arm after an suicide attack on Bagasola market in October 2015. After spending two months in the hospital of N'Djamena, she is back with her family. Yet, her life will never be the same

UNICEF

The extremist group published a video in August apparently showing recent footage of dozens of the kidnapped girls, and said some had been killed in air strikes.

Boko Haram has kidnapped hundreds of men, women and children but the kidnapping of the Chibok girls brought it worldwide attention.

In the last few months Mr Buhari has said his government was prepared to negotiate with Boko Haram over the release of the girls.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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