Chibok schoolgirls are liberated after 7years Nigeria. Last month, the schoolgirl and the man she married in captivity surrendered to the troops. She will receive psychological and medical therapy, according to the governor. More than a hundred schoolgirls are still missing. Chibok schoolgirls are liberated after 7years Nigeria

Chibok schoolgirls are liberated after 7years Nigeria

The governor’s office in Borno state, northern Nigeria, where almost 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped in the town of Chibok seven years ago, said on Saturday that one of the girls has been released and reunited with her family.

Ruth Ngladar Pogu, together with a person she had married in captivity, surrendered to the troops on July 28. Officials deferred the announcement of her release to allow time to contact her parents and other families of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, they claimed.

Borno state Governor Babagana Umara Zulum said in a statement, “I am immensely excited both as Borno’s governor and father of all sons and daughters of the state, as well as as a father to daughters.”

“I understand the feelings of relatives of those still in captivity,” he added, “but we must remain hopeful, especially with today’s developments.”Chibok schoolgirls are liberated after seven years in captivity in Nigeria

#BringOurGirlsBack, then and today

Boko Haram kidnapped about 300 schoolgirls between the ages of 12 and 17 in the Borno state town of Chibok in April 2014.

This caused an international uproar and spawned the social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls, championed by Michelle Obama as first lady and other notable voices.

In the years afterwards, about a dozen of the girls have been either liberated or found by the military, but approximately 113 remain missing and are assumed to be Islamic State captives of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram.

In 2014, mediation led to the release of 82 of the girls.

Mass kidnappings and the army’s battle

Nigeria’s military has been fighting Boko Haram and its more recent spinoff, the Islamic State West Africa Province, for the past 12 years.

In northern Nigeria, the fighting has killed 40,000 people and displaced over two million others.

While Boko Haram may have pioneered mass kidnappings as a technique, criminal groups have attempted a number of imitation actions in order to secure ransom.

Last month, kids were kidnapped from a boarding school in the Nigerian state of Kaduna.

It was the tenth such school-related mass kidnapping since December. A total of 1,000 pupils are being detained.