President welcomes freed Chibok girls

NIGERIA: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday met 82 girls freed by Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram.

The girls, who were kidnapped from their school in the northeastern town of Chibok more than three years ago, were received by Buhari and other government officials, Channels Television reported.

‘‘I cannot express in a few words how happy I am to welcome our dear girls back to freedom,’’ Buhari said. ’’No human being should go through this kind of ordeal.’’

The president promised ‘‘to spare no effort’’ to ensure that all other people abducted by Boko Haram would also regain their freedom.

The girls had health checkups with most ‘‘in good health,’’ said Anne Okoroafor, director of the Department of State Services medical facility.

All 82 girls had been flown in several military aircraft to the capital.

Nigeria’s government negotiated their release with the Swiss government, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other local and international non-governmental organisations. The girls were freed ‘‘after lengthy negotiations ... in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities,’’ the government said. Details about the prisoner exchange were released.

The girls’ abduction captured the world’s attention, with celebrities and prominent personalities such as Michelle Obama joining the ‘‘Bring Back Our Girls’’ campaign to free them. About 50 of the 276 abductees managed to escape immediately. In October, the Red Cross and Switzerland managed to broker the release of 21 girls. The Nigerian military rescued two more of the girls several months later.

Boko Haram, which has been active in northeast Nigeria since 2009, wants to create a special Islamic state in the country, as well as in bordering regions of Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The group has kidnapped thousands of other women and children in recent years, forcing them into sexual slavery or into marriages with its fighters. - DPA