One abducted girl from the Nigerian town of Chibok has been freed and reunited with her parents seven years after Boko Haram militants kidnapped her and more than 200 of her classmates, Borno state’s governor said on Saturday. Governor Babagana Zulum said the girl and someone she said she married during her captivity surrendered themselves to the military 10 days ago. Zulum said reuniting the girl with her relatives raised hopes that others still in captivity will be found. Boko Haram first carried out mass school kidnappings in Nigeria, as did its later offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province, but now the tactic has been adopted by criminal gangs snatching schoolchildren for ransom. In the latest attack last month bandits kidnapped schoolchildren from a boarding school in the state of Kaduna, the 10th mass school kidnapping since December in northern Nigeria, which has seen more than 1,000 students abducted.

Source: The Guardian August 07, 2021 21:33 UTC