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82 Chibok schoolgirls released in Nigeria

By on May 6, 2017
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By Stephanie Busari and Kelly McCleary, CNN

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) — Eighty-two Chibok schoolgirls have been released after successful negotiations between the terrorist group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government, according to a government official close to the negotiations.

The source, who is not authorized to speak on the record about the release, told CNN the freed girls are in military custody in Banki, a town in northeast Nigeria.

They will be transferred to the capital, Abuja, where they will have medical checks and be reunited with their families.
They are believed to be among the 276 girls, ages 16 to 18, forced from their beds by Boko Haram militants in the middle of the night in April 2014. The kidnapping from a boarding school in the town of Chibok sparked global outrage and the social media movement #BringBackOurGirls.

“I am very, very excited with this development. I cannot even sleep tonight,” said Yana Galang, whose daughter, Rifkatu, was among the girls kidnapped.

Galang said they don’t yet know who has been released, “but we’re very happy that many have been freed.”

“I hope and pray that my daughter is among these released girls,” she added.

As many as 57 girls escaped almost immediately after the mass abduction.

The next kidnapped girl wasn’t found until May 2016, when she wandered out of a Nigerian forest asking for help, according to witnesses.

READ: Freed Chibok girls return home for joyful Christmas

Another 21 of the Chibok schoolgirls were handed over to authorities in October 2016. The release was the result of a series of negotiations, Nigerian government said at the time.

(CNN’s Stephanie Busari reported and wrote from Lagos, and CNN’s Kelly McCleary wrote from Atlanta. Journalist Ibrahim Sawab contributed to this report.)

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