Boko Haram releases 105 of 110 Dapchi schoolgirls claiming five of them died while in captivity

BOKO Haram have released 105 of the 110 Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC) Dapchi pupils who were abducted from their boarding school last month claiming that five of them died during their ordeal.

On February 19, the school was attacked by the terrorists, who abducted the pupils in what was reminiscent of the kidnapping of the Chibok girls in 2014. Following their abduction, the Nigerian government mounted a concerted search for the girls and this morning, Boko Haram returned 105 of them in nine vehicles.

There was confusion in the area as members of the community scampered into the bush as Boko Haram appeared in the area, dropping off one the girls in a nearby village and then driving into the centre of Dapchi town to drop off the rest of them. It is not clear if the Nigerian government paid any ransom to get the girls released.

Bashir Manzo, the chairman of the Dapchi Schoolgirls Parents Association, said: “My relatives and colleagues in Dapchi just informed me that the girls were brought this morning. I am heading to Dapchi now from Damaturu and when I get there we will do a head count to see if all of them have been released.”

According to local residents, the insurgents returned the girls in the early hours of this morning, a few minutes after soldiers were withdrawn from the town.  Apparently, there is jubilation in Dapchi now as the girls were released.