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2nd LD: Nigerian gov't confirms release of some abducted schoolgirls by Boko Haram

Xinhua,March 21, 2018 Adjust font size:

ABUJA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government on Wednesday confirmed that some of the 110 schoolgirls abducted from an all-girl college in the northeastern town of Dapchi last month have been released by the Boko Haram terror group.

Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu told Xinhua by telephone that the released girls were being taken to safety.

"I can confirm to you that the Dapchi girls have been released but I do not know how many they are right now. The details are sketchy for now," Shehu said.

A jubilant crowd welcomed the girls to Dapchi town on Wednesday, according to witnesses.

Local residents of Dapchi said some people suspected to be Boko Haram fighters brought back the girls to the town in trucks, the same way they were abducted from their dormitories at the Government Girls Science and Technical College on Feb. 19.

"Everyone fled for safety when the news about suspected Boko Haram invasion got to us. But it was soon realized that the people who brought the girls were carrying no guns and they greeted the Dapchi community leader and other chiefs respectfully before they left us peacefully," said Mallam Adamu, a resident.

The recovery of the girls that way was only possible through a negotiation, according to Afolabi Adewuyi, a Nigerian security expert.

Last Wednesday, Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari visited Dapchi, located 100 kilometers from Damaturu, capital of the northern Yobe State to sympathize with parents of the girls and assure them that girls would return soon.

Buhari said the government would bring back the girls through negotiation and not by force.

The tragedy of their abduction had brought back memories of a similar occurrence four years ago in Africa's most populous country when more than 200 schoolgirls, also from an all-girl college, were abducted by Boko Haram in the northeastern town of Chibok.

Only 107 of the Chibok girls have been rescued or returned amid ongoing government negotiation with Boko Haram.

The United Nations believes Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 innocent people since 2009 through terror attacks. Enditem

 

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