The government says it obtained the girls’ release in exchange for captured Boko Haram militants. ‘After lengthy negotiations, our security agencies have taken back these girls, in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities,’ said the statement, issued by Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the President for media and publicity.

Speaking anonymously, a government official said five Boko Haram commanders were exchanged for the 82 kidnapped girls, though accounts of the number of militants involved in the exchange have differed.

The girls were shown the next day on TV, looking stunned and quiet.