'Bring back our girls' sees breakthrough, Nigeria celebrates

On the night of April 14th, 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped from a government school in Chibok, Nigeria by terrorist group, Boko Haram. Since then, some of the girls have found their way home by wandering out of camp, others have been released, but about 100 remain in captivity. This past Sunday, 82 girls were reunited with their families.

The exchange

After months of talks, the Nigerian government agreed to release up to six militants linked to Boko Haram for the freedom of 82 of the nearly 300 schoolgirls that were abducted three years ago from Chibok.

The exchange began early Sunday morning. When news began to circulate of the girls' release, families of the captives prepared to make the journey to Nigeria's capital city: Abuja. None of the families knew if their daughters would actually be among those freed, but they were all hopeful.

Rev. Enoch Mark was among those to make the journey. "We are hoping God will do something for us," he told the New York Times. Rev. Mark has been believing every day for three years that his two daughters taken by Boko Haram, would be returned to him safely.

An aid group called ICRC (The International Committee of the Red Cross) acted as an intermediary between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government. The girls got on buses in a town on the northeast border with Cameroon and were transported to an airplane that flew them to the capital to meet with Nigeria President, Muhammadu Buhari.

The release of the girls was a major victory for President Buhari, who has been under serious pressure to bring the girls home.

Parents arrive at the capital, praying to see the names of their daughters on the list

One woman named Esther Yakubu made the journey believing that her daughter's name would be on that sheet of paper, but when she arrived, her daughter Dorcas was not listed.

Still, she waited, hoping there had been a mistake made.

More than 100 girls are still in the hands of Boko Haram. Though this latest release was a victory for the families of the taken, Nigeria still protests until all of the girls return home. The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag is active again as awareness is spread that this isn't a resolved issue.

It isn't over.

What does the U.S. have to say?

The American embassy sent out a warning that Boko Haram intends to switch its strategy and start targeting foreign workers in Northeast Nigeria. The document warned that funneling money to terrorist groups will help them to become more sophisticated and more dangerous.

When asked if a steep ransom was paid to the terrorist group, the Nigerian government refused to comment. We know that in the past this has been a serious issue, since ransom money has helped Al-Qaeda broaden itself in West Africa, and the Islamic State to also penetrate the region.