At least 82 out of more than 200 Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 have been released, following negotiations between the extremist group and the Nigerian government.
"Yes, 82 girls are freed and they are due to fly to Abuja from Banki town in Borno State," a government source told Xinhua news agency late on Saturday.
The Nigerian presidency announced on its Twitter account that the government of Switzerland and the International Committee of the Red Cross took part in the "lengthy negotiations".
The release came a little less than a month after President Muhammadu Buhari said his administration has engaged local and international intermediaries in reaching out to Boko Haram for the release of the schoolgirls who were taken as captives in the restive northeastern Borno State.
This file photo shows 21 Chibok girls who were released by Boko Haram in October 2016. /VCG Photo
The government was willing to bend over backwards to make the abductors of the girls release them, the Nigerian leader had said in a message to mark the third anniversary of the abduction of the schoolgirls.
He said the government was in constant touch through negotiations and local intelligence to secure the release of the remaining girls and other abducted people.
He appealed to the parents and all Nigerians not to lose hope on the return of the remaining schoolgirls.
More than 200 schools girls were seized by armed men who stormed their dormitories on the night of April 14, 2014, at the Girls Secondary School in Chibok. Some had managed to escape while others remained unaccounted for.
In October 2016, 21 girls were freed following negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram, which claimed responsibility for the abduction.
Boko Haram has been blamed for the deaths of more than 20,000 people and displacing of 2.3 million others in Nigeria since their insurgency started in 2009.
Nigeria has made a considerable gain on the Boko Haram front, with its security forces operating in the restive region dislodging Boko Haram fighters from the Sambisa Forest, the group's largest training camp in the country, in January.
(Source: Xinhua)
