UPDATE 2 - Nigeria says 21 abducted girls freed after rebel talks

*UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS ON TALKS, BOKO HARAM STATEMENT PLUS ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) – Twenty-one of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted in April 2014 by Boko Haram have been freed, the Nigerian government confirmed on Thursday.

Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said the 21 girls were released after negotiations with their captors.

"It is confirmed that 21 of the missing Chibok girls have been released and are in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS," a government statement read.

The statement said the negotiations had been mediated by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government – and said talks were ongoing to ensure the remaining girls are also freed.

“The President welcomes the release of the girls but cautioned Nigerians to be mindful of the fact that more than 30,000 fellow citizens were killed via terrorism,” Shehu stated.

- ‘Not a swap’

A local online news outlet called Sahara Reporters quoted a Boko Haram commander as saying the girls were freed in exchange for a number of its fighters in government custody, but Shehu said nothing about an exchange, and the government denied it.

Information Minister Lai Mohamed told a news briefing in the capital Abuja that no prisoner swap had taken place for the girls’ release.

“As soon as the necessary confidence was built on both sides, the parties agreed on the date and location of the release of the 21 girls. Please note that this is not a swap. It is a release, the product of painstaking negotiations and trust on both sides,” said Mohamed.

A total of 276 girls were taken on the night of April 14, 2014 but 57 of them later escaped. Another escaped this year. The latest releases leave at least 197 of the girls still in Boko Haram hands.

The #BringBackOurGirls movement, which has campaigned for the government to step up efforts for the captives' release, said it was treating the information with cautious optimism, adding: "This will be extremely happy news if true."

In a later statement, the movement hailed the government's efforts as justifying their belief that authorities can help free the girls.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari recently said he favored a quick release of the girls, including entering into negotiations with their abductors. He also invited the United Nations to consider mediating for the girls' freedom.

Abubakar Shekau, leader of a splinter group within the insurgency, repeatedly said he would free the girls only in exchange for his fighters locked in various government prisons, among other conditions.