Nigeria's Boko Haram frees 21 Chibok schoolgirls

21 of the schoolgirls kidnapped in 2014 by Boko Haram in Chibok, Nigeria, have been freed, the President's spokesman has confirmed.

Boko Haram had kidnapped more than 270 students from a school in Chibok, north-east Nigeria. This release leaves about 190 girls from Chibok held by the militants. 57 reportedly fled in the hours after the raid. In May one girl was found and rescued in an area close to Boko Haram strongholds.

The freed students are currently being held with the security forces Garba Shehu, a spokesman for Nigerian President Muhammadu Bokhari said. Afterwards the girls will reportedly be handed over to Vice President Yemi Obinsajo. 

According to local reporters, Boko Haram dropped the girls at a location for the military to pick them up.

“The release of the girls, in a limited number, is the outcome of negotiations between the administration and Boko Haram brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government. The negotiations will continue,” Shehu said.

The kidnapping of the girls led to a global campaign, with public figures including the US first lady, Michelle Obama, calling for their release with the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

Few details have emerged of the ordeal of the abducted girls, many of whom are believed to have been taken as wives and systematically raped. Others have been forced to carry out demanding physical tasks.

President Muhammadu Buhari's spokesman said on Twitter that the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss government had acted as mediators in the talks with Boko Haram.

...brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government. The negotiations will continue.

— Mallam Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) October 13, 2016

The presidency gave no details on the deal, although four Boko Haram prisoners are believed to have been swapped for the girls, the Guardian reported.

Negotiations with Nigerian government representatives for the release of the schoolgirls have been complicated by splits within Boko Haram, but Shehu added that they were continuing.

The movement has fractured into two – possibly three – factions over the issue of links with Daesh.

Boko Haram has also kidnapped thousands of other people during its seven-year insurgency in north-east Nigeria, but the kidnapping of the Chibok girls brought worldwide attention to the group.

More than 30,000 others have been killed, the government says, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee from their homes.