Bringing Back Our Girls: The Release of 21 Chibok Schoolgirls

Bringing Back Our Girls: The Release of 21 Chibok Schoolgirls

By Hailey Lawrence

 

On Thursday afternoon, 21 girls were released from Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram after being abducted for nearly two and a half years.

Michelle Obama was one of the many supporters of #BringBackOur Girls

A very surprising and very heartwarming exchange, 21 of the Chibok schoolgirls that were abducted from the terrorist group on April 14, 2014 have been returned to their families. They were released after two and a half years of captivity at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday morning with the addition of a 20-month-old child born in captivity, said a spokesperson of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari via Twitter. The circumstances of this release was the result of years of negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram. The spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said that the government will continue the negotiation until all the girls are brought home.

The abductions of these 300 schoolgirls back in 2014 sparked an international campaign for the Nigerian government to do more to secure the girls' release. With prominent supporters like Michelle Obama and the use of the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, the Nigerian government began their mission to get the girls back. Throughout the years, several negotiations have been made; a majority failed, some were cancelled last minute, and in one instant, the negotiation team of Boko Haram was killed. This negotiation is considered one of the biggest breakthroughs between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram. The government is confident that they will continue to get the girls back “in the next few days, the next few months, we should be able to bring in more of these girls, along the same lines, using exactly the same negotiations," said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Mr. Osinbajo in a news conference further said that the girls are in great health, considering the circumstances they've been in. He assures that the government will continue to push for the release of more girls, but he warned that while they are currently waging an aggressive campaign against Boko Haram right now, they have the fate of their nation to think about as well.

“We want to ensure that we bring these girls back alive,” Mr. Osinbajo said. “At the same time we, of course, balance this against the overall safety and security of the country.”

As for the whereabouts of the other girls, Western intelligence believes that the girls are scattered in groups, according to The New York Times. Others believe that some may have escaped. The girls who are still in captivity are believed to be held by a faction controlled by Boko Haram leader  Abubakar Shekau. Only time and patience will tell the fate of these girls. 

The families of the girls who were brought back rejoiced at their return. Lawan Zanna, father of Aisha Zanna, one of the abducted girls, said he and the other parents are blessed for their return. All of the parents are “very happy hearing that they have released our daughters,” he said. “All are our daughters.”

To read more about the return of the Chibok schoolgirls, click here
To learn more about the events of the Bring Back Our Girls movement, click here