Boko Haram 'releases 21 kidnapped Chibok school girls'

Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram on Thursday freed 21 of the more than 200 Chibok school girls kidnapped from their school in Borno State, Nigeria, in April 2014, the Nigerian government has confirmed.

Garba Shehu, the Special assistant to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who confirmed the news on Twitter said;

“It is confirmed that 21 of the missing Chibok Girls have been released and are in the custody of the Department of State Services.”

“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. The negotiations will continue.”

According to reports, the identity of the released girls has yet to be confirmed.

A spokesman for president Buhari in a statement said the girls release comes following negotiations between the government of Nigeria and Boko Haram which was brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government officials.

The statement added that negotiations would continue to ensure that the rest of school girls are released. 

The Nigeria minister of information Lai Mohammed told reporters that "It is the first step in what we believe will be the release of all the girls."  

Mohammed also debunk claims that the Nigerian government had swapped Boko Haram fighters for the girls release, adding that he was not aware if any ransom had been paid.  

President Buhari told the media that the girls were released at 5.30 a.m. and will be taken to Abuja to meet doctors and psychologists. 

About 270 girls were kidnapped from their school in Chibok in April 2014 by the Islamic sect. Few of the girls managed to escape.