It is respite and long road to rehabilitation and reintegration for the 82 abducted Chibok girls released by the terrorist group, Boko Haram. Nigeria and indeed the world is thrills about this seemingly unaccomplished-able and infeasible feat.
The government had been under tremendous pressure to secure the release of more of the girls after it managed to negotiated the release of 21 of them last October. Two other girls were found separately, in addition to those who escaped on the night of their abduction.
The release of the 82 Chibok girls has been confirmed by President Muhammadu Buhari. The release was possible as a result of a swap deal between the government and the terrorist group. The president’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said in a statement in the early hours of Sunday that the girls were exchanged for some Boko Haram “suspects” held by the government.
According to Garba Shehu, the girls will be arriving in Abuja today and will be received by Mr President.
He said the president was kept abreast of every negotiation and operation that led to the girls’ release.
“President Muhammadu Buhari expresses his deep gratitude to all who played a part in ensuring the success of this operation, as follows: Security agencies, the military, the Government of Switzerland, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and local and international NGOs,” Mr. Shehu said.
With the release of the 82 girls by Boko Haram, it is estimated that about 100 Chibok girls out of the over 200 abducted from their dormitories in a government secondary school in Chibok, Borno State in April 2014 are still in Boko Haram’s captivity.
