A schoolgirl who was among more than 200 kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 refused to be part of a release deal because she is now married to a militant fighter, Nigeria&#39;s government said Tuesday.

The disclosure underlines the complex psychological effects of a lengthy captivity, and gives an indication of the work required to rehabilitate and reintegrate those released.

Boko Haram has used kidnapping as a weapon of war, seizing thousands of women and young girls as part of its eight-year quest to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.

Men and boys have also been forcibly recruited to fight in its insurgency, which since 2009 has killed at least 20,000 in Nigeria alone.

Presidency spokesman Garba Shehu said the jihadists had initially agreed to release 83 of the teenagers who were abducted from their school in the town of Chibok in April 2014.

But he told the local Channels television station: &quot;One said, &#39;No, I have a husband. I&#39;m happy where I am&#39;. And then 82 came back.&quot;

The 82 were released on Saturday following months of talks and the exchange of a number of suspected militants held in government custody.

Twenty-one of their classmates were freed in October last year; three had previously been found or escaped. Talks are understood to have started to free all or some of the remaining 113.

Complex situation&nbsp;

Testimony from former hostages in the brutal conflict has revealed that Boko Haram forced many women and young girls into marriage, and that rape and sexual violence were commonplace.

Some were forced to work as domestic slaves for extremist fighters and even deployed to the front line carrying ammunition during attacks.&nbsp;

Elizabeth Pearson, a Boko Haram specialist who studies women and conflict, said the case of the Chibok girl who refused to leave was &quot;likely to be quite prevalent&quot;.

&quot;From what we know of other young women who&#39;ve returned, the relationships with their captors is very complex and at times quite ambiguous,&quot; she told AFP in an email exchange.

&quot;We assume because they are abducted they are therefore likely to resist their captors. In fact they have to develop relationships of some sort in order to survive.&quot;

Genuine relationships will emerge, as not all fighters behave brutally to the women in the camps, particularly if children are involved, she added.

&quot;It&#39;s a much more complex situation than the abducted-rescued-victim narrative we&#39;ve seen at times,&quot; she said.

There have been repeated calls for more to be done to support those released, particularly with many women treated as social outcasts because of their time with the rebels.

&nbsp;Identities checked&nbsp;

Shehu said the government was working to verify the identities of the 82 released so they can be reunited with their families as soon as possible.

A list of the girls&#39; names was published on Sunday evening and photographs of them have been sent to Chibok and the surrounding area for cross-checking.

&quot;When we had the first 21, because of similarities in names, more than two, three sets of parents came to Abuja. So, we don&#39;t want to create that confusion,&quot; he said.

&quot;When they get the pictures, they see them and verify, then they come on board to Abuja to see their daughters.&quot;

Aisha Yesufu, coordinator of the #BringBackOurGirls pressure group, told AFP: &quot;We have to reach out to the parents and ensure that&lrm; we match the parents and the daughters.

&quot;We are still working on it.&quot;

Nigeria&#39;s government has come under fire for the length of time it has taken to reunite the former hostages with their families.

In December, families who are seen as key to the girls&#39; recovery complained they were blocked from celebrating Christmas together.

Human Rights Watch has accused the government of failing to respect the girls&#39; privacy by publishing their names and for parading them at a photo-call.

Amnesty International said on Saturday that holding the released girls in lengthy detention and for security screening &quot;can only add to their suffering and plight&quot;.

Shehu said he hoped the verification process would be concluded soon and pledged: &quot;The government will not stop any parents from immediately establishing contacts with their daughters.&quot;

(AFP)

Testimony from former hostages in the brutal conflict has revealed that Boko Haram forced many women and young girls into marriage, and that rape and sexual violence were commonplace.

A schoolgirl who was among more than 200 kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 refused to be part of a release deal because she is now married to a militant fighter, Nigeria's government said Tuesday. The disclosure underlines the complex psychological effects of a lengthy captivity, and gives an indication of the work required to rehabilitate and reintegrate those released. Boko Haram has used kidnapping as a weapon of war, seizing thousands of women and young girls as part of its eight-year quest to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria. Men and boys have also been forcibly recruited to fight in its insurgency, which since 2009 has killed at least 20,000 in Nigeria alone. Presidency spokesman Garba Shehu said the jihadists had initially agreed to release 83 of the teenagers who were abducted from their school in the town of Chibok in April 2014. But he told the local Channels television station: "One said, 'No, I have a husband. I'm happy where I am'. And then 82 came back." The 82 were released on Saturday following months of talks and the exchange of a number of suspected militants held in government custody. Twenty-one of their classmates were freed in October last year; three had previously been found or escaped. Talks are understood to have started to free all or some of the remaining 113. Complex situation Testimony from former hostages in the brutal conflict has revealed that Boko Haram forced many women and young girls into marriage, and that rape and sexual violence were commonplace. Some were forced to work as domestic slaves for extremist fighters and even deployed to the front line carrying ammunition during attacks. Elizabeth Pearson, a Boko Haram specialist who studies women and conflict, said the case of the Chibok girl who refused to leave was "likely to be quite prevalent". "From what we know of other young women who've returned, the relationships with their captors is very complex and at times quite ambiguous," she told AFP in an email exchange. "We assume because they are abducted they are therefore likely to resist their captors. In fact they have to develop relationships of some sort in order to survive." Genuine relationships will emerge, as not all fighters behave brutally to the women in the camps, particularly if children are involved, she added. "It's a much more complex situation than the abducted-rescued-victim narrative we've seen at times," she said. There have been repeated calls for more to be done to support those released, particularly with many women treated as social outcasts because of their time with the rebels. Identities checked Shehu said the government was working to verify the identities of the 82 released so they can be reunited with their families as soon as possible. A list of the girls' names was published on Sunday evening and photographs of them have been sent to Chibok and the surrounding area for cross-checking. "When we had the first 21, because of similarities in names, more than two, three sets of parents came to Abuja. So, we don't want to create that confusion," he said. "When they get the pictures, they see them and verify, then they come on board to Abuja to see their daughters." Aisha Yesufu, coordinator of the #BringBackOurGirls pressure group, told AFP: "We have to reach out to the parents and ensure that‎ we match the parents and the daughters. "We are still working on it." Nigeria's government has come under fire for the length of time it has taken to reunite the former hostages with their families. In December, families who are seen as key to the girls' recovery complained they were blocked from celebrating Christmas together. Human Rights Watch has accused the government of failing to respect the girls' privacy by publishing their names and for parading them at a photo-call. Amnesty International said on Saturday that holding the released girls in lengthy detention and for security screening "can only add to their suffering and plight". Shehu said he hoped the verification process would be concluded soon and pledged: "The government will not stop any parents from immediately establishing contacts with their daughters." (AFP)

Nigeria: Chibok girl refused to be part of release deal

Nigeria on Saturday said 82 schoolgirls who were among more than 200 kidnapped by Boko Haram Islamists more than three years ago were released as part of a prisoner swap.

&quot;Today 82 more Chibok girls were released... in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities,&quot; the presidency said on Twitter, adding the students were expected in Abuja on Sunday.

Boko Haram fighters stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in the remote town of&nbsp;Chibok&nbsp;on the evening of April 14, 2014 and kidnapped 276 girls.

Fifty-seven managed to escape in the hours that followed but the remaining 219 were held by the group.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claimed in a video message that they had converted to Islam.

The audacious kidnapping brought the insurgency to world attention, triggering global outrage that galvanised support from the former US first lady Michelle Obama and Hollywood stars.

Twenty-one girls were released in October last year after negotiations between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss government.

Three others were also found.

At the time of the release of the 21, President Muhammadu Buhari&#39;s spokesman Garba Shehu said the government was hoping to secure the release of 83 others being held by a different Boko Haram faction.

Last month he said in a radio interview that there were ongoing negotiations involving &quot;some foreign entities&quot; to release the 195 girls believed still held.

He told BBC Hausa the ICRC and Swiss government &quot;have not withdrawn their support in the negotiations&quot;.

Other countries were also involved, he added, without elaborating.

Timeline

Following is a timeline of events since the Boko Haram jihadist group abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in the remote town of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria in 2014.

- Snatched from school

On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram gunmen seize 276 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno state.

The girls are forced from their dormitories onto trucks and driven into the bush. Fifty-seven girls manage to flee.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claims responsibility in a video released on May 5, and vows to sell the girls as slave brides.

A week later, a second video shows about 100 of the missing girls. Boko Haram says they have converted to Islam and will not be released unless militant fighters held in custody are freed.

- Global response

An international media campaign is launched, backed by US First Lady Michelle Obama and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. The hashtag #BringBackOurGirls fires up a social media storm.&nbsp;

On May 17, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria vow to fight Boko Haram together, in what Cameroon President Paul Biya terms a &quot;declaration of war&quot;.&nbsp;

The UN Security Council says the kidnappings &quot;may amount to crimes against humanity&quot;, as Britain, China, France, Israel and the US offer help.&nbsp;

US military specialists deploy to neighbouring Chad but later move elsewhere after Nigeria stops requesting their services.

On May 26, Nigeria&#39;s Chief of Defence Staff Alex Badeh says the girls have been located but warns a rescue operation would put their lives at risk.

- One year on

On April 14, 2015, Nigeria&#39;s president-elect Muhammadu Buhari warns he &quot;cannot promise that we can find&quot; the girls, as vigils are held in many countries to mark their first year in captivity.

Amnesty International says the girls may have been separated into three or four groups and are being held in camps, some of which might be in Cameroon or Chad.

Buhari says in late December he is willing to negotiate with any &quot;credible&quot; Boko Haram leadership, a week after claiming the country has &quot;technically&quot; won the war against Boko Haram.

-Other victims freed

Throughout 2015, the Nigerian military announces the rescue of hundreds of people, most of them women and children, who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram.

But the missing schoolgirls are not among them, despite several unconfirmed sightings.

Suicide attacks using women and young girls increase against &quot;soft&quot; civilian targets such as mosques, markets and bus stations, fuelling fears that Boko Haram might be using its captives as human bombs.

In March 2016, it emerges that Boko Haram also seized 500 women and children from the north east town of Damasak in Borno state just months after the Chibok abduction. The kidnapping was denied at the time.

- &#39;Proof of life&#39;&nbsp;

On the eve of the abduction&#39;s second anniversary, US news channel CNN reports that Boko Haram has sent a &quot;proof of life&quot; video which shows 15 of the girls -- the first concrete indication that at least some are still alive.

On May 18, 2016 the Nigerian army confirms the first of the schoolgirls has been found.&nbsp;

The 19-year-old, who later meets President Buhari, was discovered with a four-month-old baby and a man she described as her husband near Boko Haram&#39;s Sambisa Forest enclave.

- Prisoner exchange&nbsp;

On October 13, 2016, Nigerian officials announce the release of 21 of the girls following talks between the government and Boko Haram brokered by Switzerland and the International Red Cross.&nbsp;

Local sources say four jihadist prisoners were freed as part of the deal to secure the girls&#39; release.

The Nigerian government raises the prospect that more releases could follow, with a senior official in the president&#39;s office saying that &quot;the negotiations will continue&quot;. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

- &#39;At least 80&#39; more released&nbsp;

At least 80 more girls have been released, security sources, a senior minister and Enoch Mark, the father of two of the girls, tell AFP on Saturday.

(AFP)

Boko Haram fighters had stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in the remote town of?Chibok?on the evening of April 14, 2014 and kidnapped 276 girls.

Nigeria on Saturday said 82 schoolgirls who were among more than 200 kidnapped by Boko Haram Islamists more than three years ago were released as part of a prisoner swap. "Today 82 more Chibok girls were released... in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities," the presidency said on Twitter, adding the students were expected in Abuja on Sunday. Boko Haram fighters stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in the remote town of Chibok on the evening of April 14, 2014 and kidnapped 276 girls. Fifty-seven managed to escape in the hours that followed but the remaining 219 were held by the group. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claimed in a video message that they had converted to Islam. The audacious kidnapping brought the insurgency to world attention, triggering global outrage that galvanised support from the former US first lady Michelle Obama and Hollywood stars. Twenty-one girls were released in October last year after negotiations between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss government. Three others were also found. At the time of the release of the 21, President Muhammadu Buhari's spokesman Garba Shehu said the government was hoping to secure the release of 83 others being held by a different Boko Haram faction. Last month he said in a radio interview that there were ongoing negotiations involving "some foreign entities" to release the 195 girls believed still held. He told BBC Hausa the ICRC and Swiss government "have not withdrawn their support in the negotiations". Other countries were also involved, he added, without elaborating. Timeline Following is a timeline of events since the Boko Haram jihadist group abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in the remote town of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria in 2014. - Snatched from school On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram gunmen seize 276 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno state. The girls are forced from their dormitories onto trucks and driven into the bush. Fifty-seven girls manage to flee. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claims responsibility in a video released on May 5, and vows to sell the girls as slave brides. A week later, a second video shows about 100 of the missing girls. Boko Haram says they have converted to Islam and will not be released unless militant fighters held in custody are freed. - Global response An international media campaign is launched, backed by US First Lady Michelle Obama and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. The hashtag #BringBackOurGirls fires up a social media storm. On May 17, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria vow to fight Boko Haram together, in what Cameroon President Paul Biya terms a "declaration of war". The UN Security Council says the kidnappings "may amount to crimes against humanity", as Britain, China, France, Israel and the US offer help. US military specialists deploy to neighbouring Chad but later move elsewhere after Nigeria stops requesting their services. On May 26, Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff Alex Badeh says the girls have been located but warns a rescue operation would put their lives at risk. - One year on On April 14, 2015, Nigeria's president-elect Muhammadu Buhari warns he "cannot promise that we can find" the girls, as vigils are held in many countries to mark their first year in captivity. Amnesty International says the girls may have been separated into three or four groups and are being held in camps, some of which might be in Cameroon or Chad. Buhari says in late December he is willing to negotiate with any "credible" Boko Haram leadership, a week after claiming the country has "technically" won the war against Boko Haram. -Other victims freed Throughout 2015, the Nigerian military announces the rescue of hundreds of people, most of them women and children, who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram. But the missing schoolgirls are not among them, despite several unconfirmed sightings. Suicide attacks using women and young girls increase against "soft" civilian targets such as mosques, markets and bus stations, fuelling fears that Boko Haram might be using its captives as human bombs. In March 2016, it emerges that Boko Haram also seized 500 women and children from the north east town of Damasak in Borno state just months after the Chibok abduction. The kidnapping was denied at the time. - 'Proof of life' On the eve of the abduction's second anniversary, US news channel CNN reports that Boko Haram has sent a "proof of life" video which shows 15 of the girls -- the first concrete indication that at least some are still alive. On May 18, 2016 the Nigerian army confirms the first of the schoolgirls has been found. The 19-year-old, who later meets President Buhari, was discovered with a four-month-old baby and a man she described as her husband near Boko Haram's Sambisa Forest enclave. - Prisoner exchange On October 13, 2016, Nigerian officials announce the release of 21 of the girls following talks between the government and Boko Haram brokered by Switzerland and the International Red Cross. Local sources say four jihadist prisoners were freed as part of the deal to secure the girls' release. The Nigerian government raises the prospect that more releases could follow, with a senior official in the president's office saying that "the negotiations will continue". - 'At least 80' more released At least 80 more girls have been released, security sources, a senior minister and Enoch Mark, the father of two of the girls, tell AFP on Saturday. (AFP)

Nigeria: Boko Haram releases 82 Chibok girls in prisoner swap

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Nigeria: Chibok girl refused to be part of release deal

Nigeria: Boko Haram releases 82 Chibok girls in prisoner swap