Some abducted Chibok schoolgirls refuse to be 'freed', says negotiator

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A military source said the girls were now in Banki near the Cameroon border for medical checks before being airlifted to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

"I can not express in a few words how happy I am to welcome our dear girls back to freedom", Buhari said in a statement, pledging that the presidency would "personally supervise" authorities charged with ensuring the girls' "health, education, security and general well-being". The president expressed his deep gratitude to security agencies, the military, the government of Switzerland, the Red Cross, local and global NGOs for the success of the operation.

He did not comment on how many imprisoned members of Boko Haram - whose fight to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria has left at least 20,000 dead since 2009 - had been released in the swap.

Mr. Adesina also stated that the Federal Government will do whatever it takes to secure the release of the remaining abducted Chibok school girls.

The government would now look to securing the remaining abducted girls, Sani added.

Security sources in the town of Banki, in Borno state, said that the girls had been brought there for medical checks before being airlifted on Sunday to Maiduguri.

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Ransoms paid so far amount to only tens of thousands of dollars, one analyst said, but he predicted they would rise. The attack froze computers at hospitals across the country, with some cancelling all routine procedures.

Presidential aide Bashir Ahmad tweeted a photograph of the girls, most of whom were sitting on the floor of Buhari's official residence, as the president sat in an armchair dressed in white traditional robes.

Adesina's comments come following the release of 82 girls from Boko Haram captivity on Saturday, May 6. Two more girls who successfully escaped have also since been discovered.

Boko Haram kidnappingsThe kidnapping in April 2014 was one of the most high profile incidents in Boko Haram's insurgency in northeastern Nigeria. A spokeswoman for the Red Cross said many more people are being held in territory controlled by the militants. The militant group has used kidnapping as a weapon of war against Western influence in Nigeria.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - Nigeria's presidency released the names of the 82 Chibok schoolgirls newly freed from Boko Haram extremists which parents anxiously scoured to see if their daughters were released three years after their capture.

On Friday, the USA and Britain issued warnings that the Islamist group was planning to kidnap foreigners "along the Kumshe-Banki axis" in Borno state.

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