Nigerian gov't says no ransom paid to Boko Haram for schoolgirls' release

ABUJA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government on Wednesday said it paid no ransom to secure the release of 76 out of the 110 schoolgirls abducted from an all-girl college in the northeastern town of Dapchi last month.

The 76 girls released by terror group Boko Haram were dropped off somewhere in Dapchi town at 3 a.m. local time on Wednesday, and not handed over to anyone.

Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said they were released "through back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country."

The release of the 76 girls was unconditional and "no money changed hands," Mohammed said.

For the release to work, the government had a clear understanding that violence and confrontation would not be the way out, he explained.

The official said during negotiation, the Boko Haram group had insisted on returning the girls to where they were abducted from.

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's invasion got to us. But it was soon realized that the people who brought the girls were carrying no guns," said Mallam Adamu, a resident.

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 had 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