21 school girls of Chibok, abducted by Boko Haram in 2014, return home

276 school girls were abducted from their school in Chibok in 2014 by a Boko Haram jihadi group and, 21 of them have now returned - some of them have come back with their children born during this period. These 21 school girls who have been freed from their Boko Haram captors in Nigeria have been pictured for the first time.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 14 October 2016.

The release of these girls is believed to be the result of a swap for detained Islamic leaders. Another school of thought is that they were released in lieu of a ransom payment. This gains ground because a Nigerian hostage negotiator, who was not involved in the release, believes that a 'handsome ransom' in millions of dollars was paid by Switzerland's government on behalf of Nigerian authorities.
Anyway, the freed girls, some with their children, attended a reception held by the Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the state house. His wife also embraced several of the girls, who had been forced to become jihadi brides during their time in captivity.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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One more Chibok girl rescued - she was kidnapped along with 275 others in April 2014

With the rescue of a second Chibok girl who had been kidnapped, along with 275 others, by Boko Haram militants in April 2014, the matter has once again come to the forefront. The girls were in the age group 16 to 18. This second girl was found in Nigeria, two years after she and 275 others were taken from their secondary school. She was rescued during a military operation against IS-affiliated fighters Boko Haram and was taken to hospital.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 20 May 2016.

The rescued girl is the daughter of a pastor and had only started at the boarding school in Chibok a little more than two months before the Boko Haram raid and her kidnap. This news comes just two days after another of the abducted students was found.
It seems most of the girls were still in the Sambisa forest which is the biggest stronghold of Boko Haram. However, the 19-year-old was traumatised and was carrying a baby. She has said that six of her classmates were already dead.
The girl and her mother met Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari at his official residence in Abuja and were assured that the government was "doing all it can to rescue the remaining Chibok girls". There was international outrage when the girls were abducted from their school during a Boko Haram raid on Chibok in April 2014. While fifty-seven of them managed to escape the same day, the others are held prisoners. It led to high-profile figures, including America's first lady Michelle Obama, joining the campaign #BringBackOurGirls. But - noting much has been done.
Boko Haram militants have, till now, killed an estimated 15,000 people and kidnapped hundreds of men, women and children during a six-year campaign - they want to establish an Islamic caliphate in northeastern Nigeria.


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12-year-old boy carries out suicide attack in a market in Nigeria, kills at least 10

#bokoharam #chibokgirls #nigeria #suicidebomber It was market day and a 12-year-old boy blew himself up in a suicide attack in a market in northeast Nigeria - at least 10 people have been killed in the attack. The attack took place in the grain section, which is at the edge of the market. This is the latest bloodshed to hit the region, which is plagued by Islamist violence.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 29 January 2016.

The blast happened at around midday in the crowded market in Gombi in Adamawa state and this attack is believed to be one of the worst-hit in the seven-year Boko Haram insurgency. This blast came after three suicide bombers had killed at least 14 people in town of Chibok. It was the place from where Islamist gunmen had kidnapped more than 200 girls in April 2014.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari had declared last month that the Islamic State group affiliate had been "technically" defeated. However, there has not been any let-up in suicide and bomb attacks.
Gombi is situated about 120-Km from the state capital Yola and has been hit a number of times by Boko Haram attacks. It was market day in Gombi and the market attracts thousands of people from the district.
Boko Haram has killed at least 17,000 people since its campaign began in 2009 while more than 2.6 million others have fled their homes. Some 2.0 million have been displaced within Nigeria, with the others have fled into neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.


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Chibok girls return to school after escaping from clutches of Boko Haram

#chibokgirls #bokoharam #godiya #yola #nigeria Boko Haram had kidnapped around 220 girls from their school in north-eastern Nigerian village of Chibok and, while 57 of them succeeded in escaping from their clutches, the others are still held captive deep in the jungle as reported in theguardian.com dated 3 February 2015.
The mass abduction last April propelled the sect into global infamy and the global community rose as one to condemn the kidnapping and the missing students became an international symbol of the oppression of Boko Haram and their attitude towards education.
But these girls have become bold and are now pursuing studies. That has been made possible by a 27-year-old woman known only as Godiya who offered scholarships – her sister was one of the kidnapped schoolgirls. Her mission put her directly in the crosshairs of the sect of Boko Haram which means “western education is forbidden”.
She is an employee of the American University of Nigeria in Yola. She approached her boss Margee Ensign at the American University of Nigeria in Yola who has run the establishment for six years. Godiya told her that her sister was one of the girls who had escaped, and that she and the other girls were in Chibok, doing nothing and she wanted Ensign to help them out.
Therefore, Ensign managed to collect $50,000 in donations to put 10 girls through the university for one year and the once traumatized girls have got a fresh lease of life and are turning over a new leaf, thanks to Godiya and Ensign.

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