The Federal Government has denied swapping the 21 released Chibok Girls with Boko Haram fighters.
The Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed in a press briefing, confirmed the release of the girls and assured that doctors are on ground to assess their mental health.
The Minister emphasised that there was no swap deal with the sect and denied knowledge of any financial transactions to release the girls.
“The release of the girls … is the outcome of negotiations between the administration and the Boko Haram brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government,” a presidency statement said. “The negotiations will continue.”
Around 270 girls were taken from their school in Chibok in April 2014. Dozens escaped in the initial melee, but more than 200 are still missing.
The kidnapping triggered worldwide outrage promoted by a Twitter hashtag
#bringbackourgirls.
The presidency gave no details on the deal, saying only that the 21 girls were very tired and would first rest in the custody of the national security agency.
Boko Haram’s seven-year insurgency to create an Islamic state in the northeast has led to the deaths of 15,000 people and displaced more than two million.
The Nigerian military has been carrying out a large-scale offensive in the Sambisa forest, Boko Haram’s stronghold, in the last few days.
