CHIBOK GIRLS: 21 GIRLS RELEASED, NEGOTIATIONS, ONGOING - GARBA SHEHU

In reaction to the news about the 21 Chibok girls who were reported to have been released by Boko Haram out of the number of the kidnapped school girls in 2014, the president's spokesman Garba Shehu, has in a press release confirmed the release stating that it was "the outcome of negotiations between the administration and Islamist militants" with the freed students are currently in the custody of the security forces.

It would be recalled that Boko Haram seized more than 270 students from a school in Chibok, located in the north-east of Nigeria, an act which provoked national and international condemnation thereby sparking of one of the biggest global social media campaigns, with tweeters using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

In another reaction to the news of the 21 girls’ release, one of the leaders of the #bringbackourgirls# movement in the person of Obiageli Ezekwesili sent an emotion laden tweet in response to the news which read “"I can only weep, right now. You know that kind of cry that is a mix of multiple emotions".

Mr Shehu,  had noted on twitter  that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss government had acted as mediators in the talks with Boko Haram even as he added added that negotiations were still ongoing.

The President, Muhammadu Buhari was also said to have tweeted a reaction saying that he welcomed the release "following successful negotiations" according to the BBC.

Information also gathered was that the students were released in exchange for four militants, the AFP news agency reports, quoting local sources. It adds that the 21 schoolgirls were driven to a military base in ICRC vehicles, and the militants were also transported by the ICRC.