Over 80 schoolgirls released by Boko Haram: Nigerian officials

In a statement, posted on Twitter, Bashir Ahmad said that those released would travel to Abuja on Sunday and meet President Muhammadu Buhari.

Earlier on Saturday a military official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity said that the schoolgirls had been released near the town of Banki, in Borno state, close to the Cameroon border. 

The schoolgirls, added the official, were in military custody. 

The dramatic development marks the second time a group of Chibok schoolgirls have been released.

21 were freed in October 2016 following negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram. 

Afterwards, the Nigerian government denied that the deal, negotiated through the Swiss government and the International Red Cross, had involved the payment of a ransom to the extremist group.

Before Saturday's release 195 girls remained in captivity.

The 276 schoolgirls, most of whom were Christian, kidnapped from Chibok in April 2014 are among thousands of people abducted by Boko Haram over the years.

At that time the mass abduction caused widespread outcry leading to the establishment of the global #Bringbackourgirls campaign supported by public figures and celebrities including former US first lady Michelle Obama. 

Many of those kidnapped were forced under duress to marry Boko Haram members, falling pregnant. According to rights groups others may have been used to carry out suicide bomb attacks.

On Saturday family members of the kidnapped girls expressed hope, telling the Associated Press that they were waiting for confirmation from the government. 

Speaking last year Buhari claimed that Boko Haram had been "crushed" in Nigeria.

However, the group continues to stage attacks in northern Nigeria, in addition to neighbouring countries. 

20,000 people have been killed by the group's insurgency, with a further 2.6 million displaced. Millions more face starvation as a result.