Nigerian girls kidnapped by Islamic extremists have been reunited with their families for Christmas

SCHOOLGIRLS kidnapped by the Islamist group Boko Haram in the Nigerian town of Chibok two years ago have been reunited with their families for Christmas.

During their time in captivity the girls were encouraged to convert to Islam and to marry their kidnappers, with some whipped for not doing so.

Today one of the 21 girls released said she was shocked to be heading home.

Asabe Goni, 22, did not even have the energy to stand up in October when the Islamist militants said that any girls who wanted to be released should line up.

She just sat and watched as other girls scrambled to get into line.

“I was surprised when they announced that my name was on the list,” Goni told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“It was a miracle,” she said, while expressing regret that she had to leave behind her cousin who was also abducted.

In an emotional ceremony in the capital Abuja, one of the girls said they had survived for 40 days without food and narrowly escaped death at least once.

It is unclear how the release was negotiated, but an official says talks are under way to free some more girls.

Of the 276 students kidnapped in April 2014, 197 are still missing.

Another girl said: “We never imagined that we would see this day but, with the help of God, we were able to come out of enslavement.”

Excited relatives were waiting to be reunited with the girls, who were released last Thursday.

One parent said: “We thank God. I never thought I was going to see my daughter again but here she is… Those who are still out there – may God bring them back to be reunited with their parents.”

Nigerian authorities have denied reports that captured Boko Haram fighters were swapped for the girls. But one security official that four commanders had been freed.

The AP news agency also reported that a “handsome ransom”, in the millions of dollars, was paid by the Swiss government on behalf of the Nigerian government.

Nigeria’s Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the release was “the first step” for the liberation of the rest of the captive girls.

“Already we are on phase two and we are already in discussions,” he said.

“But of course you know these are very delicate negotiations, there are some promises we made also about the confidentiality of the entire exercise and we intend to keep them.”

Some of the kidnapped girls managed to escape within hours of their kidnapping, mostly by jumping off

Following more than two years in captivity and after being married off to Boko Haram fighters, some of the girls reportedly do not want to go home.