8 Facts you should know about the release of 21 Chibok Girls from Boko Haram

It’s a happy day for many Nigerians following report that 21 Chibok girls have been released from Boko Haram captivity.

The 21 girls were released on Thursday, October 13, after being held captive by the insurgents for over two years. The deadly sect kidnapped 276 girls from their school in Chibok, Borno state in April 2014. No fewer than 57 girls managed to escape from their captors.

Since then, all efforts to rescue the remaining girls have proved abortive.The federal government has been trying to reach an agreement with the insurgents and today, some of the girls are free after years of captivity.

Here are 8 facts you should know about the release so far:

1.Their release was brokered by International Red Cross and the Swiss government.

2. They are the first batch of the kidnapped girls to be released following an alleged prisoner swap of detained Boko Haram militants.

3. The 21 released Chibok girls were allegedly swapped with four high profile Boko Haram militants.

4. Out of the 21 girls released, 1 is a nursing mother according to a corrected information.

5. They have been taken by a military chopper to a medical facility for evaluation.

6. They left the Nigeria Airforce base in Maiduguri at 9.15am and are on their way to Abuja.

7. All Twenty-one names of the chibok girls have been released 

8. The Nigerian government is yet to contact the parents of the 21 Chibok girls to identify them.