Three of the Chibok girls have been freed by the Nigerian army eight years after they were taken from their dormitory at school. They are among the 276 schoolgirls that were abducted in the northeastern town of Chibok by the extremist organization Boko Haram.
The now-adult ladies and their young children were present at a press conference hosted by the Borno regional army. “Ruth Bitrus, Kauna Luka, and Hannatu Musa, three of the Chibok girls, are now with you. Following operations that helped these girls escape from their kidnappers, all of them were saved by the soldiers of the 21 Special Armoured Brigade “said Waibi Shaibu, the 7th Division commander for the Nigerian Army.
A total of 80 of the 276 girls who were kidnapped in 2014 have been released in return for Boko Haram leaders, and 57 have managed to escape. However, the officials claim that another 100 people remain missing.
Many of these ladies were coerced into marrying jihadists and converting to Islam while they were being held captive.
In the past ten years, jihadists or criminal organizations that have engaged in widespread kidnappings for ransom have assaulted other schools or colleges in the north of Nigeria.
