Eighty-two Chibok schoolgirls held captive for more than three years by the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram have been released and flown to the Nigerian capital, Abuja, in a deal that involved an exchange of prisoners held by the government.

The young women were among 276 mostly Christian schoolgirls whose abduction by Boko Haram caused an international outcry in April 2014. In the early hours of Sunday, the Red Cross secured the transfer of the former captives, who were flown to Abuja, where they were expected to meet the president. Anxious families awaited an official list of the names of those released.

The former captives were photographed boarding a helicopter on Sunday morning, after the government negotiated their release in exchange for an unspecified number of prisoners from Boko Haram. The women were picked up in Red Cross vehicles and transferred to military helicopters. The president, Muhammadu Buhari, who has recently been ill and working from home, was due to receive them in Abuja. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told the Guardian that it had acted as a neutral intermediary and organised the transportation of the girls and young women to freedom.(guardian)…[+]