I have tears. 21 girls released, y’all. I’m so happy for them and their families.
(CNN) — Boko Haram militants handed over 21 Chibok schoolgirls to Nigerian authorities Thursday after a series of negotiations, Nigeria’s government said, in the first mass release of any of the more than 200 girls and women kidnapped from their school two years ago.
The 21 former captives were freed at about 3 a.m. in the northeastern Nigerian town of Banki, near the border with Cameroon, a source close to the negotiations said on condition of anonymity.
Some of the 21 freed girls appear Thursday in Banki, Nigeria, in a photo obtained exclusively by CNN.
They are said to have been among the 276 girls that Boko Haram militants herded from bed in the middle of the night at a school in Chibok in April 2014 — a kidnapping that spurred global outrage.
As many as 57 girls escaped almost immediately, and one was found this spring. Just under 200 remain unaccounted for after Thursday’s release.
September: Chibok girls’ parents react to new Boko Haram video
The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss government brokered the deal between the Islamist militant group and the Nigerian government, said Mallam Garba Shehu, spokesman for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Negotiations will continue,” he said on Twitter.
Terms of Thursday’s deal were not immediately announced, but no captive Boko Haram fighters were released in exchange for the girls, the source with knowledge of the negotiations said.
After their release, the girls went to meet with the governor of northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state, and they will be taken to the central Nigerian city of Abuja, Borno officials said.
It was so touching watching them all…
https://twitter.com/AJENews/status/786869192742014976
https://twitter.com/MobilePunch/status/786858566879674368
https://twitter.com/alouibrahim92/status/786670389090983936
https://twitter.com/mmfng/status/786628084187398144
https://twitter.com/MobilePunch/status/786641410992828417
May God have mercy upon them all.
https://twitter.com/zebbook/status/786673244828999680
https://twitter.com/BashirAhmaad/status/786630880576110592
https://twitter.com/BashirAhmaad/status/786640402086494209
PHOTOS: 21 Chibok girls meet Osinbajo
http://punchng.com/photos-21-chibokgirls-meet-osinbajo/
https://twitter.com/CocoOsborn/status/786526058971619328
https://twitter.com/naijama/status/786631045731024896
https://twitter.com/BashirAhmaad/status/786568264008798209
https://twitter.com/BashirAhmaad/status/786630005056995328
https://twitter.com/mmfng/status/786618788565356544
https://twitter.com/mmfng/status/786615429158604800
https://twitter.com/mmfng/status/786622587615010816
https://twitter.com/3ChicsPolitico/status/786621306405998596
https://twitter.com/nigerianpilot/status/786618185470607360
https://twitter.com/BukkyShonibare/status/786585930530447360
https://twitter.com/obyezeks/status/786554529374310400
https://twitter.com/RepWilson/status/786611683020066820
My friend, Ibrahim Abdullahi, created the hashtag BringBackOurGirls, brought awareness to the kidnapped girls & 21 are now released.
Kudos! Great news to hear that your friend’s efforts are bringing results of releasing these girls.
this is encouraging news. More to say about this…
https://twitter.com/SaharaReporters/status/786501839852146688
https://twitter.com/obyezeks/status/786583398403801088
https://twitter.com/akandeoj/status/786568754931064832
https://twitter.com/likelyjanlukas/status/786607370801713152
https://twitter.com/NTANewsNow/status/786605627401342977
913 days, y’all. Whew lawd!
https://twitter.com/GarShehu/status/786511322200608768
https://twitter.com/alashock/status/786577339257802752
Heartbreaking..
These poor girls…
Can’t even begin to imagine the nightmare and what they’ve been put through..
There’s a special place in hell for the evil barbarians that have done this to these young girls…destroyed lives and families…
https://twitter.com/alashock/status/786603621915824128
https://twitter.com/daily_trust/status/786560922005413888
https://twitter.com/alashock/status/786586613358796800
https://twitter.com/MobilePunch/status/786587388738842624
https://twitter.com/alashock/status/786580480686563329