It is good news for the families of some of the schoolgirls who were abducted by Book Haram insurgents some two and a half years ago.
Nearly 300 girls were kidnapped from a school in Chibok, Borno state, northeastern Nigeria and the federal government announced on Thursday that 21 of them had been freed.
Recall that one of the girls recently escaped from their hold, a few months ago.
The development appeared to be the greatest breakthrough so far in the brutality of the militant group Boko Haram, which seized the girls om April 14, 2014.
An international campaign, supported by Michelle Obama and many top Nigerians, had urged the government to do more to secure the girls’ release, using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.
“The release of the girls, in a limited number, is the outcome of negotiations between the administration and the Boko Haram, brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government,” Garba Shehu, a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, said in a series of posts on Twitter.
“The negotiations will continue. The president welcomes the release of the girls but cautioned Nigerians to be mindful of the fact that more than 30,000 fellow citizens were killed via terrorism.”
Mr. Shehu said that the names of the released girls would be made public soon and that Lawal Daura, the director general of the State Security Service, had briefed the president before his departure to Germany for an official visit. The girls were taken to an air force hospital.
Laolu Akande, a spokesman for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said they were receiving care and “undergoing medical, psychological and other necessary reviews” by experts.
All relatives of the girls rejoiced at the news of the release, even though they did not know at the time if their own particular daughters were among the freed.
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