Abducted Chibok schoolgirl found with baby son

One of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Islamist militant group Boko Haram from their school in north-east Nigeria's Chibok in 2014 has been found by soldiers, a Nigerian army spokesman said on Saturday.

She had a ten-month-old baby with her.

Around 270 girls were kidnapped by the jihadist group, which has waged a seven-year insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in the north-east, in April 2014.

Sani Usman said the girl was discovered by troops who were screening escapees from Boko Haram's base in the Sambisa forest on Saturday in Pulka, Gwoza Local Government Area, in Borno State.

The girl, Maryam Ali Maiyanga, was “discovered to be carrying a 10-month-old son”, the army spokesman said.

Last month, 21 of the abducted girls were released by Boko Haram following talks with the government brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government.

The first of the schoolgirls to be found was discovered by soldiers on the edge of the Sambisa forest, a vast woodland area, in May.

Few details have emerged of the ordeal of the abducted girls, many of whom are believed to have been taken as wives by extremists and systematically raped. Others have reportedly been forced to carry out demanding physical tasks. As Christians, all are believed to have been forced to convert to Islam.

Reuters