The National Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr. Shuaibu Leman, has commended the Federal Government for its determination to secure the release of the girls.
The union believes this success will spur the government to secure the release of the remaining girls to enable them reunite with their families.
“This development, as we learned, is as a result of the Federal Government’s determination to secure the release of the girls through negotiations initiated by the Department of State Services (DSS) and a friendly foreign government as well as a renown International Humanitarian Organisation,” he said.
The NUJ is also asking the government not to relent in the fight against terror until others held captive by the sect regain their freedom.
On Thursday, the Spokesman for Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, confirmed that 21 out of the Chibok girls kidnapped by the Boko Haram militants in 2014 have been released.
According to a statement by Mr Garba Shehu, (the President’s Spokesman), the Director-General of the DSS, Lawal Daura, had already briefed President Buhari on the development.
He said that the release of the girls, in a limited number, was the outcome of negotiations between the administration and the Boko Haram, brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss Government.
The statement added that the President welcomed the release of the girls but cautioned Nigerians to be mindful of the fact that more than 30,000 fellow citizens were killed in the over six years of insurgency in the northeast.