Ten years after the Chibok kidnapping, 24 of the 276 girls abducted from their school in north-east Nigeria have been freed. The girls were taken by Boko Haram militants from their dormitories in April 2014, sparking global outrage and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. While some have been released or escaped over the years, around 100 remain missing.
The latest release occurred after negotiations between the militants and Nigerian authorities. The girls were handed over to a Red Cross convoy on the edge of the Sambisa Forest, where they had been held in harsh conditions. They were then transported to Banki, a border town, and flown by military helicopter to safety.
However, campaigners and families of the missing girls express despair over the waning interest of authorities and ongoing mass abductions by militants. Sources indicate no negotiations are currently underway for the remaining captives, despite assurances from Borno state officials.
The Chibok abduction remains the most notorious example of Nigeria's security crisis, with Boko Haram and other Islamist insurgencies having killed nearly 350,000 people and displaced over two million since 2009. The freed girls, some of whom gave birth while in captivity, have often faced stigmatisation and rejection by their communities.
