By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria

The Nigerian military has said another of the 276 schoolgirls abducted in 2014 by Boko Haram militants has been freed.

Rakiya Abubakar was discovered alongside a six-month-old child as troops arrested a number of Boko Haram militants on Thursday in the country's northeast region, according to army spokesman Brigadier- General Sani Usman.

The number of the abducted schoolgirls still in captivity now stands at 196.

A total of 276 had been taken on the night of 14 April 2014. Eighty-one -- including 21 whose release was negotiated in October 2016 -- are now free and in government care.

By Sunday, will be 1,000 days since the girls were kidnapped, sparking international outrage and raising the profile of the militant group.