Nigerian President Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has met with the 21 Chibok school girls released by Boko Haram on Thursday.
The meeting took place on Thursday evening at a medical facility operated by the west African country's State Security Service,( SSS), in Abuja. This was shortly after the girls' arrival in the Federal Capital Territory.
Most of the girls wept profusely as they met with Osinbajo.
The released girls were among the over 200 schoolgirls, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists from a Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State, on April 14, 2014.
"Please note that this is not a swap. It is a release, the product of painstaking negotiations and trust on both sides," Lai Mohammed told reporters in Abuja, denying claims from local sources that the girls were freed in exchange for Boko Haram proisoners.
"As soon as the necessary confidence was built on both sides, the parties agreed on the date and the location of the release of the 21 girls," he said.
He said that the government would continue to pursue the release of the remaining girls, adding that those released would receive medical attention and care.
"We see this as a credible first step in the eventual release of all the Chibok girls in captivity. It is also a major step in confidence-building between us as government and the Boko Haram leadership on the issues of the Chibok girls," said Mohammed.
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