Nigerian official says 62 Chibok girls have been released

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) At least 62 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped three years ago by Boko Haram extremists in northern Nigeria have been released into military custody, authorities said late Saturday. Family members said they were eagerly awaiting a list of names and “our hopes and expectations are high.”

Nearly 200 of the schoolgirls had remained captive after the first negotiated release of 21 girls in October. At the time, Nigeria’s government said another group of 83 girls would be released “very soon.”

“Huge numbers,” the personal assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, tweeted late Saturday.

A Nigerian official who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to journalists confirmed that at least 62 had been freed. The number could not be independently confirmed by The Associated Press.

Another official with direct knowledge of the rescue operation said the schoolgirls were found near the border town of Banki in Borno state near Cameroon.

“The location of the girls kept changing since yesterday when the operation to rescue them commenced,” said the official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make the announcement.

Many of the kidnapped girls, most of whom were Christians, were forced to marry the Islamic extremists and became pregnant. Human rights advocates believe others could be among the young girls who have been used to carry out suicide bombing attacks.

The group representing the families of the girls said they were awaiting direct confirmation from the government.

“Our hopes and expectations are high as we look forward to this news being true and confirmed,” said Sesugh Akume with the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.

The Nigerian government has denied that a ransom was paid in the October release and that it freed some detained Boko Haram fighters in exchange for the girls. The negotiations were mediated by the Swiss government and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

At the three-year anniversary of the kidnapping in April, the government said negotiations had “gone quite far” but faced challenges.

The 276 schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok in northern Nigeria in April 2014 are among thousands of people abducted by the Nigeria-based Boko Haram over the years.

Buhari late last year announced Boko Haram had been “crushed,” but the group continues to carry out attacks in northern Nigeria and neighboring countries. Its insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people and driven 2.6 million from their homes, with millions facing starvation.