The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday welcomed the release of 21 Chibok girls on Oct. 13, hoping it can be a signal that more of the girls would be released.

The Chief of Communication, UNICEF, Ms Doune Porter, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

“We know that these girls will have been abused and traumatised during their captivity and that they will need a great deal of medical and psychological support.

“So they can begin to come to terms with their experiences and reintegrate with their families and communities; it will be a long and difficult process,” she said.

Porter said that the more than 200 Chibok girls kidnapped in April 2014 were among more than 7,000 women and girls that UNICEF estimated had been held and subjected to violence by Boko Haram.

“All of these women and girls need and deserve their freedom and our support on their difficult road to recovery,” she said.

Also speaking, Mrs Morenike Omaiboje, Director of Programmes, Women Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON), an NGO, said that the release of the girls was a good step in the right direction.Thank God!