It has been revealed that the Boko Haram terrorists got 20 of their own members imprisoned by the Cameroonian authorities in exchange for the 27 hostages released on Friday night.
The French news agency,AFP quoting a government source, also reported that a ransom was paid to the terrorists to release their captives.
The Cameroonian government battling the insurgents on their northern border with Nigeria is yet to officially disclose how the hostages, among them 10 Chinese construction workers, were freed at the weekend.
Faces of the Chinese hostages freed by Boko Haram Friday night. They were flown to Yaounde on Saturday morning. AFP Photo
The Chinese were seized in May from a construction camp in Waza near the border with Nigeria in an attack that left one Cameroonian soldier dead. In July, after multiple raids, the Boko Haram gunmen seized Agnes Ali, wife of the deputy prime minister, Amadou Ali in Kolofata and also captured 16 other local people, including the Lamido of the town.
The Chinese were brought to Yaounde airport by military plane, an AFP correspondent said. As was the case in past kidnappings of foreigners blamed on Boko Haram, no details were given on how the hostages were freed.