ABUJA, Nigeria - The 82 Nigerian schoolgirls recently released after more than three years in Boko Haram captivity reunited with their families Saturday as anxious parents looked for signs of how deeply the extremists had changed their daughters’ lives.

Brightly dressed families rushed through the crowd in the capital, Abuja, and embraced. One small group sank to their knees, with a woman raising her hands as if praising in church. Some danced. Others were in tears.

“I am really happy today, I am Christmas and new year, I am very happy and I thank God,” said mother Godiya Joshua, whose daughter Esther was among those freed.

This month’s release was the largest liberation of hostages since 276 Chibok schoolgirls were abducted from their boarding school in 2014. Five commanders from the extremist group were exchanged for the girls’ freedom, and Nigeria’s government has said it would make further exchanges to bring the 113 remaining schoolgirls home.

“Our joy is never complete until we see the complete 113, because one Chibok girl matters to all Chibok people,” said a parent of one of the freed schoolgirls, Yahi Bwata.

Many of the girls, most of them Christians, were forced to marry extremists and have had children. Some have been radicalized and have refused to return. It is feared that some have been used in suicide bombings.

The mass abduction in April 2014 brought international attention to Boko Haram’s deadly insurgency in northern Nigeria, and it launched a global Bring Back Our Girls campaign that drew the backing of some celebrities, including former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama. Thousands have been kidnapped during the extremists’ eight-year insurgency, and more than 20,000 have been killed.

The release of the 82 schoolgirls this month came after an initial group of 21 girls was released in October. Nigeria’s government has acknowledged negotiating with Boko Haram for their release, with mediation help from the Swiss government and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The two groups of freed schoolgirls reunited earlier Saturday, Nigeria’s Channels TV reported, showing the young women laughing and embracing.

Since the latest release, many families in the remote Chibok community had been waiting for word on whether their daughters were among them. A government list of names circulated, and parents were asked to confirm the freed girls’ identities through photos.

Both groups of freed girls have been in government care in the capital as part of a nine-month reintegration program that President Muhammadu Buhari has said he will oversee personally. But human rights groups have criticized the government for keeping the young women so long in the capital, far from their homes. </s> Boko Haram has freed several schoolgirls kidnapped from their school hostel in Chibok, Borno State.

While a section of the Nigerian media suggested that about 82 girls were released, Al-Jazeera’s, citing government sources, said only 62 were freed.

About 276 female students were kidnapped by Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School on April 14, 2014. Fifty-seven of the girls escaped while being taken away while three others were found or rescued by the military.

On October 13, 2016, 21 girls were freed after the Swiss government and international Committee of Red Cross brokered a deal between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government.

The Nigerian government said in April it was collaborating with “foreign entities” to negotiate for the release of the remaining girls.

“Talks are ongoing through other means with the help of some foreign entities to free more schoolgirls,” presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said during an interview with BBC Hausa.

“These talks are going on with the help of some countries. You can recall the 21 schoolgirls were freed with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Swiss government officials who got involved in the negotiations. These two have not withdrawn their support in the negotiations,” Shehu said.

“There are also other countries that are lending support to the negotiations by being involved in the talks,” Shehu added.

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Also, Like us on facebook </s> Boko Haram extremists have returned almost all of the 110 girls abducted from their Nigerian boarding school a month ago with an ominous warning, witnesses said.

Boko Haram extremists have returned almost all of the 110 girls abducted from their Nigerian boarding school a month ago with an ominous warning, witnesses said.

As terrified residents emerged from their homes, the extremists said “this is a warning to you all”, resident Ba’ana Musa told the Associated Press. Ministers of Information and Defence have just briefed the press ahead of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Meeting. 



The released Girls are in Dapchi and being documented; Situation is developing; release is outcome of “backchannel” negotiations; no ransoms were paid. pic.twitter.com/wajHHCaGUd — Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 21, 2018 “We did it out of pity. And don’t ever put your daughters in school again,” the extremists said.

Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden” in the Hausa language. Nigeria’s government said 101 of the 110 schoolgirls had been confirmed freed and that the number “would be updated after the remaining ones have been documented”.

“No ransoms were paid,” information minister Lai Mohammed said in a statement. The girls were released “through back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country, and it was unconditional”.

Family members travelled to the town on Wednesday morning. “When I get there we will do a headcount to see if all of them have been released,” said Bashir Manzo, whose 16-year-old daughter was among those kidnapped during the February 19 attack.

The mass abduction and the government response brought back painful memories of the 2014 attack on a boarding school in Chibok. Boko Haram militants abducted 276 girls, and about 100 of them have never returned.

Some girls were forced to marry their captors, and many had children fathered by the militants. The latest mass abduction is thought to have been carried out by a Boko Haram splinter group aligned with Islamic State, one that has criticised the leader of the main Boko Haram organisation for targeting civilians and has focused instead on military and Western targets.

Residents in Dapchi fled on Wednesday morning upon hearing that Boko Haram vehicles were heading towards the town. “We fled but, from our hiding, we could see them and surprisingly, we saw our girls getting out of the vehicles,” Umar Hassan told the AP. GREAT NEWS from Dapchi, Yobe State. Thank God for the safe return of our sisters. Alhamdulillah! — Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) March 21, 2018 “They assembled the girls and talked to them for some few minutes and left without any confrontation,” said another resident, Kachallah Musa.

The girls were at hospital in Dapchi “and the counsellors are there with them”, the information minister told reporters. As with the released Chibok schoolgirls, “they will be quarantined and be counselled before they go back to their schools”. Their release came a day after an Amnesty International report accused the Nigerian military of failing to heed several warnings of the imminent attack last month.

The military has called the report an “outright falsehood”. “GREAT NEWS from Dapchi, Yobe State. Thank God for the safe return of our sisters. Alhamdulillah!” an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, said on Twitter. </s> The Boko Haram radical militia has freed 21 of the more than 200 schoolgirls who were abducted from Chibok in 2014, the Nigerian government has confirmed.

The release of the 21 abducted schoolgirls was negotiated by the government in a deal brokered by the Swiss government and the International Committee of the Red Cross, a spokesman said.

A local news agency in Nigeria, quoting a Boko Haram commander, reported that the women were released in a “prisoner swap” for four senior Boko Haram militants in Nigerian custody. Similar reports are emerging from other agencies, quoting Nigerian government sources.

The released schoolgirls are “very tired” and are resting in government custody, according to Garba Shehu, a spokesman for Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari. They are believed to be in Maiduguri, the biggest city in northeastern Nigeria.

The spokesman said Mr. Buhari “welcomes the release of the girls” but cautioned Nigerians to remember that 30,000 Nigerians have been killed in the Boko Haram conflict.

The names of the freed schoolgirls will be released shortly, Mr. Shehu said in a series of tweets on Thursday in which he confirmed their release.

There was an emotional reaction from the Bring Back Our Girls movement, which has campaigned daily for the release of the schoolgirls since their kidnapping in April 2014.

“I can only weep, right now,” said Oby Ezekwesili, a founder of the Bring Back Our Girls group. “You know that kind of cry that is a mix of multiple emotions,” she tweeted. “Lord. Some of our girls ARE BACK!!!”

April 2014: Boko Haram extremists kidnap 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in northern Nigeria, the region where the insurgency emerged several years ago.

May 2015: New President Muhammadu Buhari is sworn in, pledges to tackle Boko Haram “head-on.”

April 13, 2016: Boko Haram video appears to show some of the Chibok girls and tearful mothers recognize their daughters.

May 18, 2016: Relative says one of the Chibok girls is found, pregnant, in a forest; pressure grows on Nigeria’s government to rescue the others.

Aug. 14, 2016: Boko Haram video says some Chibok girls killed in airstrikes, demands release of extremists in exchange for other girls’ freedom.

Oct. 13, 2016: Spokesman for Nigeria’s president confirms 21 Chibok girls have been freed, a result of government negotiations with Boko Haram.

With files from The Associated Press </s> Twenty one of the 276 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants have been freed, officials said on Thursday.

The freed girls, the first to be released as a result of government action, are in the custody of Nigeria’s Department of State Services and secret intelligence agency, according to spokesman Garba Shehu.

“We are extremely delighted and grateful,” said the ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ movement on Facebook. The group, which has campaigned within Nigeria and internationally for the release of the students, said it awaits the names of the released girls.

Fighters swapped for schoolgirls

 

 A Nigerian military source said four detained Boko Haram leaders have been freed in exchange for the release of the schoolgirls.

The abduction of the schoolgirls in April 2014 and the government’s failure to quickly free them had caused international outrage and brought Boko Haram, Nigeria’s home-grown militant group, to the world’s attention.

Dozens of the girls escaped on their own, but most remain missing.

April 2014: Boko Haram extremists kidnap 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in northern Nigeria, the region where the insurgency emerged several years ago.

May 2015: New President Muhammadu Buhari is sworn in, pledges to tackle Boko Haram “head-on”.

April 13, 2016: Boko Haram video appears to show some of the Chibok girls and tearful mothers recognise their daughters.

May 18, 2016: Relative says one of the Chibok girls is found, pregnant, in a forest; pressure grows on Nigeria’s government to rescue the others.

August 14, 2016: Boko Haram video says some Chibok girls killed in airstrikes, demands release of extremists in exchange for other girls’ freedom.

October 13, 2016: Spokesman for Nigeria’s President confirms 21 Chibok girls have been freed, a result of government negotiations with Boko Haram. </s> Several dozen Nigerian schoolgirls who were among more than 200 kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 have been released, Nigerian officials said Saturday, with unconfirmed reports that at least 80 have been freed.

"I can confirm they have been released," said a senior Nigerian government minister, who asked not to be identified, adding that an official statement would be released later.

The girls were reportedly released following negotiations with the government, though few details have been confirmed.

A military source said they were currently in Banki near the Cameroon border for medical checks before being airlifted to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

The kidnapping in Paril 2014 was one of the most high-profile incidents of Boko Haram's insurgency, now in its eighth year.

About 220 were abducted from their school in a night-time attack, prompting a global outcry and a huge social media campaign.

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.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said last month the government was in talks to secure the release of the remaining captives.

Although the Chibok abduction is the most notorious 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 northeast Nigeria.

Despite the army saying the insurgency is on the run, large parts of the northeast, particularly in Borno state, remain under threat from the militants, and suicide bombings and gun attacks have increased in the region since the end of the rainy season late last year. </s> MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Boko Haram extremists returned almost all of the 110 girls abducted from their Nigeria boarding school a month ago with an ominous warning, witnesses said Wednesday.

The fighters rolled into Dapchi around 2 a.m. in nine vehicles and the girls were left in the centre of town. As terrified residents emerged from their homes, the extremists said "this is a warning to you all," resident Ba'ana Musa told The Associated Press.

"We did it out of pity. And don't ever put your daughters in school again," the extremists said. Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language.

Nigeria's government said 101 of the 110 schoolgirls, most of them Muslim, had been confirmed freed and that the number "would be updated after the remaining ones have been documented."

"No ransoms were paid," the information minister, Lai Mohammed, said in a statement. The girls were released "through back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country, and it was unconditional."

Family members were en route to the town Wednesday morning.

"When I get there we will do a head count to see if all of them have been released," said Bashir Manzo, whose 16-year-old daughter was among those kidnapped during the Feb. 19 attack.

Manzo confirmed that his daughter was among those freed.

"As I speak to you there is jubilation in Dapchi," he said.

The mass abduction and the government response brought back painful memories of the 2014 attack on a boarding school in Chibok. Boko Haram militants abducted 276 girls, and about 100 of them have never returned. Some girls were forced to marry their captors, and many had children fathered by the militants. </s> The Nigerian government on Wednesday said 101 of the 110 girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram Islamist militants in mid-February were returned to their hometown of Dapchi in northeastern Nigeria on Wednesday.

"No ransoms were paid," said Information Minister Lai Mohammed, adding the girls were released "through back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country, and it was unconditional."

The girls were being treated by counselors at a local hospital and would receive psychological treatment before they returned to their schools, according to Mohammed.

Read more: Nigeria fails to protect schools from Boko Haram's attacks

The family of one of the kidnapped schoolgirls told DW correspondent Adrian Kriesch in Lagos that their daughter, Aisha, had been returned.

Another father told DW: "They were just brought inside the town and released. The insurgents told them just go to your homes."

Boko Haram freed the girls "out of pity," one of the fighters told residents after a convoy of trucks dropped them off in the town.

He also told residents: "Don't ever put your daughters in school again."

In the local Hausa language, Boko Haram translates as "Western education is forbidden."

Read more: Are Nigerian authorities withholding information on missing Dapchi schoolgirls?

Nigeria's military dismissed an Amnesty International report that claimed security forces were warned several times ahead of the mass abduction last month as "outright falsehood."

Read more: Is Islamic extremism on the rise in Africa?

Amnesty had on Tuesday cited sources including security officials and witnesses who said military and police received at least five calls in the hours before the attack.

The latest kidnappings caused a fresh wave of anger in Nigeria, with many people reminded of Boko Haram's abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014.

The February 19 case is the biggest mass abduction since the Chibok kidnappings.

On 22 February, Nigerian media reported that up to 76 of the girls had been rescued, two days after they were kidnapped.

Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> Abuja/Lagos— Boko Haram militants have released 82 schoolgirls out of a group of more than 200 whom they kidnapped from the northeastern town of Chibok in April 2014 in exchange for prisoners, the presidency said on Saturday.

Switzerland and the International Committee of the Red Cross helped secure the 82 girls in "lengthy negotiations", the presidency said on its Twitter account.

President Muhammadu Buhari will receive the girls on Sunday in the capital Abuja, it said, without saying how many Boko Haram suspects had been exchanged or disclosing other details.

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. From there they will be flown to Abuja.

The kidnapping was one of the high-profile incidents of Boko Haram’s insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast, now in its eighth year and with little sign of ending. About 220 were abducted from their school in a nighttime attack.
Boko Haram releases most of the 110 Nigerian schoolgirls it had kidnapped in February 2018, and warns against sending them back to school.