82 School girls kidnapped by B'Haram in Nigeria freed

By Olarewaju Kola

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA) - The Nigerian government has secured the release of 82 school girls among the 219 kidnapped by Boko Haram in a school dormitory in the country's northeast town of Chibok, an official said Saturday.

Segun Adeyemi, spokesman to the information minister, broke the news on his Facebook page Saturday night.

"Eighty two Chibok girls are free," he said without providing details.

Earlier on Saturday night a serving Senator from the Nigerian northwest state of Kaduna, Shehu Sani who has been involved in previous negotiations with the Boko Haram on behalf of the Federal Government for the release of the girls, told journalists in Abuja that "the process of securing the freedom of many of the girls was 75 percent completed."

A military source said the girls would be taken with a military helicopter from the northeast Banki town on the Nigeria-Cameroon border to the nation's capital, Abuja.

On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram abducted 219 girls at their dormitory while preparing for the college final examination at Chibok town in Nigeria's northeast Borno State. The incident sparked global outrage, leading to the formation of a national pressure group; #BringBackOurGirls# to press the government to secure their release.

Fifty six of the girls later fled their abductors' camp while a total of 24 were freed by the military and through negotiation early 2016, now leaving the balance of 58 unaccounted for.