The 21 rescued Chibok schoolgirls are to enjoy Christmas and New Year festivities with their parents, Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, has disclosed.

Shehu, who stated this on his Facebook page, said already the Department of State Security (DSS) had taken the liberated girls to their respective families.

He also dismissed social media reports that more Chibok schoolgirls had been rescued from their captors, saying that the girls sighted in Yola were the ones rescued in October. News Express was among papers that published the story last night after it was repeatedly broadcast by the Federal radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN). We regret publishing what has turned out to be untrue, as we never expected to be misled by the Federal Government-owned broadcaster, FRCN.

Shehu in his Facebook post, however, revealed that negotiation was ongoing by the DSS to secure the release of the remaining girls and other Nigerians held captive by the Boko Haram insurgents. According to him, DSS is full of optimism that the department will succeed.

He said: “to my friends spreading the news of a further release of Chibok Girls, we are not there yet. “The negotiations are ongoing and the Department of State Service, DSS is full of optimism that it will be successful.

“Today, the DSS took the 21 Chibok girls already rescued to Yola, Adamawa State, on their way home to celebrate the Christmas with their families.

“No new girls have been released but by God’s grace, they will be; Happy Christmas, everyone.”

NAN recalls about 276 schoolgirls were abducted when members of Boko Haram terrorists stormed their boarding school in Chibok town in Borno in 2014. No fewer than 50 had escaped in the initial days after the abduction, while another one, Amina Ali, was found roaming around the Sambisa forest with a baby and a man who claimed to be her husband.

The Federal Government in October successfully secured the release of the 21 Chibok schoolgirls after months of negotiation with their captors. President Muhammadu Buhari had pledged to ensure the release of the remaining girls in captivity.

•Adapted from a NAN report.

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