Washington D.C., Oct 14, 2016 / 11:23 am
Radical Islamist militant group Boko Haram has released 21 schoolgirls kidnapped from the Nigerian town of Chibok in 2014 in a deal with the national government.
Their release was confirmed as "the outcome of negotiations between the administration and Islamist militants" by Garba Shehu, spokesman for Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari.
The BBC had been told by a security official that several captive militants were released in exchange for the birls, but the Nigeran government has since denied this.
The girls were among 276 teenage girls, now mostly ages 16 to 18, kidnapped in April 2014 from their school in Chibok, located in Nigeria's Borno state. Their abduction sparked global outrage and a social media hashtag "#BringBackOurGirls."