A Long, Slow Homecoming for Chibok Schoolgirls Freed by Boko Haram
He said most of the parents understand that the girls will remain with the government and have "expressed willingness for
that process." The 82 recently freed girls will likely go through the same program as the others who were freed last fall, officials have said.
Mr. Pogo said that Imagine a father who hasn’t seen his daughter for three years,
She and the 81 other girls who were released Sunday in a prisoner swap negotiated by the Nigerian government
and Boko Haram are in the custody of the government in Abuja, the nation’s capital, where they are undergoing medical and security screening.
Nigerian officials have said they plan to immediately negotiate for the release of the dozens of other missing girls who were among the nearly 300 Chibok
schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram fighters who stormed their school in the middle of the night in April 2014, loaded them onto trucks and sped away.
Nigerian officials this week strongly defended their handling of the girls, saying the
girls themselves have chosen to stay in Abuja and receive help from the government.
Officials said they were trying to avoid a scenario
that played out in October when some families traveled to Abuja only to learn that their loved ones were not among the group.