76 Not 105 Dapchi Schoolgirls Released Says Lai Mohamamed

Minister Of Information, Lai Mohammed

Seventy-six out of the 110 abducted Dapchi schoolgirls were released, information minister Lai Mohammed, has corrected the earlier figure quoted.

Earlier reports say 105 of the girls were released by Boko Haram on Wednesday,

The reports say that five of them died.

According to Presidential Aide Shebu Garba government sources, the released girls have been transported to their homes.

The release of the girls came barely a few days after Defence Minister Dan Alli promised that the abducted Dapchi schoolgirls would be rescued.

They were abducted by a faction of Boko Haram fighters at the Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi in Yobe state on Feb. 19.

Cable news, had early on Wednesday reported that Boko Haram insurgents released the girls.

Amharic M-grah, a Dapchi resident, whose daughters were among the 110 abducted students, told TheCable that his children were brought back on Wednesday morning.

“The report is true. I have seen my two daughters who were kidnapped last month,” he said.

Another resident said there is confusion in the town as many people are running out of fear.

“Boko Haram just returned the kidnapped girls this morning. They brought them back in the same set of vehicles which they used in conveying them last month,” the resident said.

“People are scared because they do not know what the insurgents are up to.”

Defence minister Mansur Dan-Ali gave the assurance on Saturday during a television programme.

“It can be earlier; maybe a week, it can be two weeks, but we are on it, and I’m telling you with all sense of sincerity that we are closing in on them,” he told ChannelsTV.

The minister revealed that all necessary efforts were being made to ensure that the girls return safely as soon as possible.

“We have dispatched all the surveillance devices we have in terms of air, human resource, intelligence, and other forces that needed to be in place by all possible means and we have made sure that all that’s needed is being done to see that these girls are being found, wherever they are.”

Dan-Ali was also confident that the girls would return in the shortest time owing to the intelligence at the government’s disposal, though he cannot say the exact time when it would be.

President Muhammadu Buhari had said the life of every citizen matters to his administration.