On April 14, 2014, 276 school girls aged between 16 and 18 were kidnapped by Boko Haram fighters in the town of Chibok, Nigeria.
Three years later, the Islamic terrorist group has released 82 of the girls, after extensive negotiations with the Nigerian government.
Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari has released a statement to the AFP detailing the prisoner swap that secured their freedom. “After lengthy negotiations, our security agencies have taken back these girls, in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by authorities,” it reads.
Six months earlier, 21 of the girls were released with the help of the Red Cross and international security agencies.
No details have been given as to the identities of the girls released, but Nigerian senator Shehu Sani has told AFP that they are largely “in good condition”, SBS reports.
Some, however, have given birth to children fathered by Boko Haram.
The Nigerian government will now attempt to find the rest of the missing girls.
The 2014 kidnapping was just one of multiple abductions undertaken by Boko Haram as a weapon of war, but has by far generated the most global attention. The #BringHomeOurGirls hashtag went viral on social media when former First Lady Michelle Obama and numerous celebrities joined the cause.
