#BringBackOurGirls: one of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls has been found

Joy as one of the 219 schoolgirls abducted in Nigeria two years ago is rescued - but where are the rest?

michelle obama
michelle obama

Joy as one of the 219 schoolgirls abducted in Nigeria two years ago is rescued - but where are the rest?

When Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki was taken to her mother's house two years after being kidnapped by Islamic militant group Boko Haram, it was the end of more than two years of anguished waiting.

"When we arrived at the house... I asked the mother to come and identify someone," Aboku Gaji, leader of the vigilante group which found her told the BBC. "The moment she saw her, she shouted her name: Amina, Amina!' She gave her the biggest hug ever, as if they were going to roll on the ground. The girl started comforting the mother, saying: 'Please Mum, take it easy, relax. I never thought I would ever see you again, wipe your tears. God has made it possible for us to see each other again."

Amina is one of the 276 girls that were abducted from the dormitory of their government secondary school in Chibok, Nigeria, on 14 April 2014. Although some girls managed to escape at the time, 219 have remained missing ever since. Videos of the girls have been released, most recently in March this year, demanding a $50million ransom. Amina has confirmed that although six of those 219 have died, the rest are all still being held in a Boko Haram camp.

Amina was found by vigilantes on the edge of the Sambisa forest carrying her four-month-old baby daughter Safiya. Since being taken in 2014 her father has died and her mother has attempted suicide.

The Bring Back Our Girls global social media campaign, launched immediately after the kidnap, drew widespread support from public figures including Michelle Obama, however none of the girls has ever been found until now. Meanwhile Amnesty International estimate that a further 2000 women and girls from the region have been kidnapped since the Chibok abduction. Nevertheless Amina's discovery has brought hope to the remaining parents: "This means they are still alive," said Yakubu Nkeke, from a local parents' group. "We continue to pray that they, too, will be rescued."