She tells her mother, “God has made it possible for us to see each other again.”

By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST News Service, who was born in Nigeria

SAMBISA FOREST, NIGERIA (ANS – May 18, 2016) -- One of the missing Chibok schoolgirls has been found in alive Nigeria, the first to be rescued since their capture two years ago.

According to the BBC, Amina Ali Nkeki was found carrying a baby by an army-backed vigilante group on Tuesday (May 17, 2016) in the huge Sambisa Forest, close to the border with Cameroon.

“She was with a suspected member of the Boko Haram Islamist group,” said the BBC.

In all, 218 girls remain missing after their abduction by militants from the Nigerian terror group, Boko Haram, from a secondary school in north-east Nigeria in April 2014.

“Amina, now 19, was reportedly recognized by a civilian fighter of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF), a vigilante group set up to help fight Boko Haram, and briefly reunited with her mother,” continued the BBC.

“The Nigerian military named the suspected Boko Haram fighter as Mohammed Hayatu. He said he was Amina's husband.

“He has been arrested and taken to the regional capital Maiduguri, along with Amina and her baby, for medical attention, the military said.”

Aboku Gaji, leader of the JTF in Chibok, revealed: “The moment this girl was discovered by our vigilantes, she was brought to my house. I instantly recognized her, and insisted we should take her to her parents.

“When we arrived at the house... I asked the mother to come and identify someone. 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, we had to stabilize them.

“The mother called the attention of other relations to come out and see what is happening. 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.’

“Afterwards, we had to make them understand that the girl would not be left in their care. She must be handed over to the authority.”

Hosea Abana Tsambido, the chairman of the Chibok community in the capital, Abuja, told the BBC that Amina had been found after venturing into the forest to search for firewood.

“She was saying… all the Chibok girls are still there in the Sambisa except six of them that have already died,” he said.

A huge Twitter campaign for the missing Chibok schoolgirls has gained momentum after Amina was found, and now people have taken to Twitter again to voice their joy and comments.

It got the support of celebrities from the US First Lady, Michelle Obama, to Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai and US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres, and #Bringbackourgirls has become one of the biggest social media campaigns ever.

Many around the world have now welcomed the news, and hope the other girls abducted by Boko Haram militants would soon be found.

Photo captions: 1 Amina was found with a four-month-old baby. Their faces have been digitally altered for their protection. (Sahara Reporters). 2) Some of the missing schoolgirls who have been forced to wear Islamic garb. 3) Michelle Obama in the White House with her sign. 4) Dan Wooding with his mother, Anne, shortly after his birth in Vom Christian Hospital, Nigeria, in December of 1940.

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 75, is an award-winning winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for nearly 53 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren, who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder and international director of the ASSIST News Service (ANS), and the author or co-author of some 45 books. Dan has a radio show and two TV shows, all based in Southern California.

*** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).

By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST News Service, who was born in Nigeria

NIGERIA (ANS – May 19, 2016) -- A second schoolgirl from the more than 200 seized in the Nigerian town of Chibok by the Boko Haram terror group, has been rescued, the Nigerian army says.

Army spokesman Col. Usman Sani Lukashenka said more details about the operation would be provided later.

“This comes two days after the rescue of the first girl, Amina Ali Nkeki, and her four-month-old baby,” said the BBC. “In all, 217 girls remain missing after their abduction by the Boko Haram Islamist group from a secondary school in north-eastern Nigeria in 2014.”

Earlier on Thursday (May 19, 2016), Amina, 19, was flown to the capital Abuja to meet President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr. Buhari said he was delighted she was back and could resume her education.

“But my feelings are tinged with deep sadness at the horrors the young girl has had to go through at such an early stage in her life,” he added.

The BBC went on to say that Amina and her baby were found by an army-backed vigilante group in the huge Sambisa Forest, close to the border with Cameroon.

She was with a suspected member of the Boko Haram Islamist group, who “claimed to be her husband.”

Aboku Gaji, who heads the vigilante group that found Ms. Nkeki, described to the BBC Hausa service the emotional reunion with her mother.

“When we arrived at the house, the door was closed, I asked the mother to come and identify someone, 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, we had to stabilize them.

“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.’

“That's what this girl, Amina kept telling her mother.”

During the April 2014 attack, Boko Haram gunmen arrived in Chibok at night and raided the school dormitories, loading 276 girls onto trucks.

More than 50 managed to escape within hours, mostly by jumping off the trucks and running into roadside bushes.

A video broadcast by CNN in April this year appeared to show some of the kidnapped schoolgirls alive.

Fifteen girls in black robes were pictured. They said they were being treated well but wanted to be with their families. The video was allegedly shot on Christmas Day 2015 and some of the girls were identified by their parents.

The Chibok schoolgirls, many of whom are Christian, had previously not been seen since May 2014, when Boko Haram released a video of about 130 of them gathered together reciting the Koran.

The abduction led to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, which was supported by US First Lady Michelle Obama and Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban, made an incredible recovery, and now lives in Birmingham, England.

Another campaign group working for the girls’ release, the Pathfinders Justice Initiative, said there was a “renewed sense of energy and hope and excitement” among families of the girls after Ms. Nkeki’s escape.

Executive director Evon Idahosa told the BBC World Service’s Newsday program that there was now “no excuse” for the Nigerian government not to step up efforts to free the remaining captives.

“They [the families] are excited but they have also been disappointed so much in the past, particularly during the Jonathan administration [from 2010-2015].”

Photo captions: 1) Amina Ali Nkeki (facing away from camera) showed her child to President Buhari (Reuters). 2) The girl and her daughter were found along with a man who the military has said “claimed to be her husband” (Nigerian Military). 3) The Bring Back Our Girls campaigners and relatives of the girls have marched in Abuja to demand more be done to rescue them (AFP). 4) Dan Wooding doing a live broadcast from Seoul, South Korea.

Note: If you would like to help support the ASSIST News Service, please go to www.assistnews.net and click on the DONATE TO ASSIST NEWS button to make you tax-deductible gift (in the US), which will help us continue to bring you these important stories. If you prefer a check, just make it out to ASSIST and mail it to: PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609, USA.

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 75, is an award-winning winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for nearly 53 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren, who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder and international director of the ASSIST News Service (ANS), and the author or co-author of some 45 books. Dan has a radio show and two TV shows, all based in Southern California. Before moving to America, he had previously been a senior reporter with two of two of Great Britain’s top-circulation newspapers, as well as an interviewer for BBC Radio in London, England.

** You may republish this and any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).