Nigeria: Chibok schoolgirl free after seven years captivity

The workplace of the governor of Borno state in northern Nigeria, the place virtually 300 schoolgirls had been kidnapped within the city of Chibok seven years in the past, introduced Saturday that one of many women is free and has been reunited along with her household.
Ruth Ngladar Pogu surrendered to the army on July 28 together with an individual she had married in captivity. Officials withheld the announcement of her launch from captivity to offer them time to contact her dad and mom and different households of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, they mentioned.
In a press release, Borno state Governor Babagana Umara Zulum mentioned, “I am extremely excited both as Borno’s governor and father of all sons and daughters of the state, and also as a father to daughters.”
He added, “I know the feeling of families of those still under captivity, but we have to remain hopeful especially with today’s development.”
#BringBackOurGirls then and now
In April 2014, virtually 300 schoolgirls between the ages of 12 and 17 had been kidnapped by Boko Haram within the city of Chibok in Borno state.
This sparked a world outcry and spawned the social media marketing campaign #BringBackOurGirls, championed by Michelle Obama when she was the primary woman within the White House and different distinguished voices.
In the years since, about two dozen of the women had been both launched or discovered by the army, although roughly 113 stay lacking and are believed to nonetheless be captives of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram.
In 2014, mediation led to the discharge of 82 of the women.

Mass abductions and the military’s battle
Nigeria’s army has been locked in a 12 year-long battle in opposition to Boko Haram and its newer offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province.
The battle has left 40,000 useless and displaced greater than two million in northern Nigeria.
While Boko Haram could have pioneered mass kidnappings as a tactic, felony gangs have launched copycat assaults with the aim of securing ransom.
In the latest assault final month, schoolchildren had been kidnapped from a boarding faculty within the state of Kaduna.
It was the tenth such mass kidnapping from a faculty since December. An estimated 1,000 college students are being held in whole.