On 13 October, according to the Nigerian President’s spokesman Garba Shehu, Boko Haram released 21 of the 275 girls kidnapped in Chibok in April 2014 to the Nigerian Army in Maidugiri, capital of Borno state.
Shehu said the release was ‘the outcome of negotiations between the administration and Islamist militants’. He said on Twitter that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss government had acted as mediators in the talks with Boko Haram and that negotiations were continuing.
Ransom paid?
A security official said that four imprisoned Boko Haram militants were freed in exchange but this was later denied by the government. Subsequent reports suggest a ransom was paid.
The girls were initially taken to the city of Maiduguri and placed under the supervision of the security forces and were then flown to Abuja, the Nigerian capital, where they received medical attention and were met by Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
