Boko Haram releases 21 abducted Chibok schoolgirls Thursday Oct 13,2016

More than two years after their abduction, only one of the 219 missing schoolgirls has been rescued.

Twenty-one of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria more than two years ago have been released into the custody of the government following a prisoner swap, a senior official said Thursday Oct 13,2016

"It is confirmed that 21 of the missing Chibok girls have been released and are in the custody of the department of state services," presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement.

"The release of the girls... is an outcome of negotiations between the administration and the Boko Haram brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government," Shehu said. "The negotiations will continue."

The girls were exchanged for four Boko Haram prisoners in Banki, northeast Nigeria, in a deal struck between Boko Haram, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Nigerian and Swiss governments, said official and local sources.

"The girls were brought to Kumshe, which is 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Banki where a military base is stationed, in ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) vehicles," said a source.

"The four Boko Haram militants were brought to Banki from Maiduguri in a military helicopter from where they were driven to Kumshe in ICRC vehicles."

From Kumshe, the Chibok girls were taken by helicopter to Maiduguri, the capital of northeast Borno state.

"The 21 (Chibok) girls arrived (in) Banki around 3:00 am (0200 GMT) where they found a military helicopter waiting. They were immediately ushered into the helicopter and flown to Maiduguri," said another source.

The identities of the girls have yet to be confirmed

Note

Boko Haram seized 276 students from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok on the night of April 14, 2014. 

Fifty-seven managed to escape in the immediate aftermath.

Until now, only one other girl had been rescued. Amina Ali, who was 17 at the time of her abduction, was discovered by civilian vigilantes in May and appeared to have given birth while in captivity.

A video released by Boko Haram in August purporting to show the rest of the kidnapped Chibok girls is only the second proof of life video obtained since their abduction.