2nd LD Writethru: UN chief hails release of 21 abducted Chibok schoolgirls held by extremist group

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday welcomed the release of 21 Chibok schoolgirls by the extremist group Boko Haram to the Nigerian government following more than two years of captivity.

The Secretary-General "remains deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of the remaining schoolgirls and other victims of abduction by Boko Haram, who are still in captivity," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"The secretary-general urges the international community to continue supporting the government of Nigeria in its efforts to secure their release, rehabilitation and reintegration," the spokesman said.

Twenty-one of the schoolgirls kidnapped in 2014 by Boko Haram in Chibok, Nigeria, were freed on Thursday in the first mass release of any of the more than 200 girls and women kidnapped from their school two years ago.

Ban "calls for increased efforts to ensure additional humanitarian access in the northeast of Nigeria, and reiterates the continued commitment of the United Nations in this regard," he said.

The special representative of the UN secretary-general for West Africa and the Sahel, in his capacity as high representative for Nigeria, continues to engage with the Nigerian authorities and international partners on this matter, he said.

Officials and staff workers of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) are in Nigeria to help the released schoolgirls with necessary reproductive health care and social counselling, the spokesman said.

A total of 276 girls were seized by the Boko Haram fighters who stormed their dormitories on the night of April 14, 2014, at the Girls Secondary School in Chibok town of Borno State in northeastern Nigeria.

Two years on, while some 57 girls managed to escape then, 219 of them still missing until these 21 were freed by their abductors.

Nigeria's northeast region has been a stronghold of Boko Haram. Enditem