Buhari Negotiated the Freedom of 82 Chibok Girls by Releasing Boko Haram Prisoners...See Details

The return of the freed 82 Chibok Girls it has been revealed was made possible after the Federal Government released some Boko Haram members the army had captured.

Kidnapped Chibok girls (File photo)

 

It has been revealed that the Federal Government secured the release of 82 Chibok Girls by releasing some Boko Haram prisoners on Saturday.

 

The revelation was made by the the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement made available to journalists on Saturday night.

 

Shehu said President Muhammadu Buhari was scheduled to formally receive the freed  girls in Abuja on Sunday.

 

The statement read, “The President is pleased to announce that negotiations to release more of the Chibok Girls have born fruit with the release of 82 more girls today.

“After months of patient negotiations, our security agencies have taken back these abducted girls in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities.

“The girls are due tomorrow (Sunday) in Abuja to be received by the President.

“The President expressed his deep gratitude to security agencies, the military, the government of Switzerland, the Red Cross, local and international NGOs for the success of this operation.

“It may be recalled that when the first batch of 21 Girls were released in October last year, the President directed the security agencies to continue in earnest until all the Chibok Girls have been released and reunited with their families.

“The President has been receiving full reports from the Director-General of the State Security Services at each stage of the process.”

 

It would be recalled that the girls totally about 276 were on April 14, 2014, kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok. Fifty-seven of the schoolgirls managed to escape over the next few months

 

In May 2016, one of the abducted girls, Amina Ali, was found and another was discovered later in the month, although parents expressed doubts as her name was not among those originally kidnapped. Twenty-one girls were freed in October last year, while one other was rescued the next month. Another was found in January this year. With the latest release of 82 more girls, a total of 164 girls have gained their freedom, while 112 are still in Boko Haram captivity.