The Nigerian Army has handed over Lydia Simon, the rescued Chibok schoolgirl and her three children to the Borno State government for reunification with her family.
The theatre commander, North-East Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Maj. Gen. Waidi Shuaibu, made this known at the handing over ceremony at the Maimalari Cantonment, on Thursday in Maiduguri.
According to him, troops of the 82 Division Task Force Battalion rescued the six-month-old pregnant lady alongside her three children on Wednesday April 17, in Gwoza Local Government Area of the state.
He said that she was the number 18 among the girls that were rescued by the Nigerian military.
Shuaibu explained that the abduction of the Chibok school girls in 2014, made both national and international headlines which culminated in the hashtag, “bring back our girls. ”
The commander added that several efforts have been made both internationally and nationally to return the girls safely and reunite them with their families.
“One of such national efforts is the conduct of military operations deep within the terrorists’ enclaves which have yielded positive results to facilitate rescue of some of the Chibok girls.
“Starting from Esther Marcus, who appears on serial 103 on the abducted Chibok school girls’ list, who was the first to be rescued by troops of 7 Division Gar, till now efforts are still ongoing.
“Just recently on April 17, one more Chibok girl was rescued with her three children from the Mandara mountain by troops of the theatre,” he said.