Nigeria: 82 abducted school girls freed by Boko Haram

Lagos : At least 82 of the more than 200 Chibok girls that were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 in Nigeria's northeastern Borno State have been released, a government source said. The source told Xinhua news agency late Saturday that the girls were released following a negotiations between the extremist group and the Nigerian government.

"Yes, 82 girls are freed and they are due to fly to Abuja from Banki town in Borno State," Xinhua news agency quoted the source as saying.

The release came barely a month after President Muhammadu Buhari said his administration has engaged local and international intermediaries in reaching out to Boko Haram for the release of the Chibok school girls in captivity.

He said the government was in constant touch through negotiations and local intelligence to secure the release of the remaining girls and other abducted people. He appealed to the parents and all Nigerians not to lose hope on the return of the remaining schoolgirls.

More than 200 schools girls were seized by armed men who stormed their dormitories on the night of April 14, 2014, at the Girls Secondary School in Chibok. Some had managed to escape while others remained unaccounted for.

Boko Haram has been blamed for the deaths of more than 20,000 people and displacing of 2.3 million others in Nigeria since their insurgency started in 2009.