Kidnapped Chibok girl found with baby in Nigeria: Army

Nigerian troops have managed to rescue yet another Chibok girl carrying a baby boy, more than two years after she was taken into captivity by the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group along with over 200 other school girls in northeastern Nigeria.

According to a statement released by Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, a Nigerian army spokesman, the girl, identified as Maryam Ali Maiyanga, was discovered by army troops on Saturday morning in Pulka in the volatile state of Borno near the Mandara mountains, which separate Nigeria from Cameroon.

“She was rescued at about 06:00 a.m. (local time) to be carrying a 10-month-old son, while the army troops were screening (possible) escapees from Boko Haram terrorists’ hideout in Sambisa forest,” Usman said, adding that the girl had been taken to the unit’s medical facility for a proper medical checkup.

The announcement comes less than a month after 21 other Chibok girls were freed from the grips of the terrorist group. The girls were swapped for four Boko Harm prisoners held in the liberated town of Banki, which borders Cameroon, located in northeastern Nigeria.

In August, Boko Haram released a new video purportedly showing some of those girls and called for the release of comrades in exchange for the freedom of the abductees.

The swap negotiations were brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss government.

On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their secondary school in the northeastern town of Chibok in Borno. About 60 of the girls managed to escape afterward, but the fate of the remaining others remains unknown.

The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), which has campaigned for releasing the girls from the grips of the terrorists over the past two years, confirmed the release of the girl on Saturday.

“We are happy with the news... We have confirmed the name of the freed girl to be among those on our data base,” BBOG campaigner Aisha Yesufu said in a statement.

“Our hope is that the government will work towards an early release of the remaining girls so that we can bring this sad episode to a close,” she added.

Elsewhere in the statement, Usman said the army units managed to kill at least 14 suspected Boko Haram terrorists on Friday during a fighting at Mallam Fatori in Borno. He, however, added that the army lost an officer and four soldiers in the fight.

More than 20,000 people have been killed and some 2.6 million people have been displaced since Boko Haram began its terror activities in 2009. Many blame corrupt officials in the Nigerian government and army for the continued militancy. Recent reports say the terrorist group is receiving some of its arms and ammunition from corrupt Nigerian officials.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk