Nigeria says 21 abducted Chibok schoolgirls freed in swap
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Twenty-one of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram more than two years ago were freed Thursday in a swap for detained leaders of the Islamic extremist group, government and military officials said, the first release since nearly 300 girls were taken captive in a case that provoked international outrage.
The freed girls, some carrying babies, were released before dawn and placed in the custody of the Department of State Services, Nigeria’s secret intelligence agency. In photos released by the government, the former captives, most now young women, appeared gaunt and exhausted. The government “wants the girls to have some rest,” said presidential spokesman Garba Shehu, adding that “all of them are very tired.”
Some 197 captives remain missing, though some reportedly have died.
“We are extremely delighted and grateful,” said the Bring Back Our Girls movement, which campaigned in Nigeria and internationally for the release of the girls, most of whom were teenagers when they were seized in April 2014 from their school in the northeastern town of Chibok.