TheCable

The Department of State Services (DSS) has transferred the 82 Chibok schoolgirls, who were released earlier in the month, to the ministry of women affairs for rehabilitation.

Ever since they regained freedom, the girls have been with the security agency, where they were made to undergo several medical tests and treatment.

The girls spent three years in captivity and were only freed after the federal government negotiated with their captors.

Details of the negotiation have not been made public, but the government admitted that some Boko Haram commanders were swapped with the victims.

There were reports of ransom being paid but the government denied giving money to the sect.

Girls usually released from captivity are not reunited with their family immediately.Peter Joseph, the uncle of one of the 21 Chibok schoolgirls released by Boko Haram in October 2016, says the rehabilitation camp of the government is “just like another prison”.

Those freed in October are still in a rehabilitation camp, even though their family members have been complaining about being denied access to them.

Some of the girls before leaving the DSS office

Earlier in May, Peter Joseph, an uncle to one of the 21 Chibok schoolgirls released in October, said the rehabilitation camp was “just like another prison”.

In an interview on The Stream, a programme on Al Jazeera, Joseph said he had not been given free access to see his niece, Sarah, since she regained freedom six months ago.

“We were very happy to learn of the news that she was released,” he told Femi Oke, anchor of the programme.

“But we are not very much impressed with the way the government is handling the whole rehabilitation process.

“Nobody is allowed to see them. So, it’s like another imprisonment, but this one has to do with the government.”

A total of 276 girls were abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno state, on April 14, 2014.

Of the 276 girls, 57 managed to escape, while 219 were left with the insurgents. With a total of 103 released, 116 girls are still in bondage.

Government has promised to secure the release of the remaining girls.