The latest news in Nigeria indicates that 82 girls were released by Boko Haram, an Islamic militant group in Nigeria. These militant have kidnapped thousands of people during their nine-year term. One of the most high-profile kidnappings was that of 276 girls from Chibok. The girls were abducted from a secondary school in April 2014. During the kidnapping, around 50 girls escaped but the rest were never found. It has been a long three-year journey that has seen the involvement of many local and international intervention.

Various Interventions over the Years

When news broke out about the kidnappings, many people rallied to get the girls returned to their families. Former First Lady Michelle Obama with the help of other Hollywood stars started an online campaign #BringBackOurGirls to rally people all over the world to join in the search. This was backed by Cameroon and other surrounding nations that offered their support to help find the girls. The US also offered support by deploying forces to neighbouring Cameroon to help find and rescue the girls. However, the forces had to leave because their help was not sought in the rescue.

In 2015, it was reported that the girls may have been located. However, the Nigerian forces could not launch an attack or an operation because there was a real possibility that the girls would end up as casualties in the rescue. Another reason given as part of the Latest News In Nigeria a while back was that all the girls were not in one place and thus launching an operation could put the others in harm’s way.

Latest News in Nigeria 2015/ 2016 Showed an Increase in Suicide Bombers

One of the worries during the three-year period was that the kidnapped girls might have been forced to act as suicide bombers. This conclusion was due to the fact that there was an increase in the number of female suicide bombers in Nigeria for the attacks that Boko Haram took credit for. The fear was that not all the girls would be found alive. However, this was mildly disproved when Boko Haram supposedly released a video showing proof of life for the kidnapped girls.

In the same period, Boko Haram claimed that some of the girls had converted to Islam and gotten married to some of the Islamists in the militant group. It is important to note that most of the kidnapped girls were Christians.

President Muhammadu Buhari to Receive the Girls

The latest news in Nigeria report that President Muhammadu Buhari will receive the girls who arrived in a convoy on Sunday. The girls are said to have come in the convoy from a military base in Banki which is near the border of Cameroon. The negotiations leading up to the release were conducted in conjunction with the military, various local and international NGOs, the Government of Switzerland and the International Rescue Committee.

News of the girls’ release started trickling in on Saturday. It is expected that many of the families of the kidnapped girls will get relief by finally getting their daughters back. However, there is still a need to push for the release of the remaining girls.