The Federal Government on Wednesday confirmed the release of 76 abducted students of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.
At least 110 students were abducted from their hostels by Boko Haram militants on February 19.
The government said the girls were released unconditionally following the intervention of “some friends of Nigeria.”
A statement by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the 76 girls were those that had been documented so far and said the release of the abducted girls is ongoing.
He said the girls were released at “about 3:00 a.m. through back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country.”
According to him, the girls’ release was unconditional. “The directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to all security agencies to do everything possible to secure the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls, who were abducted February 19, 2018, has yielded fruits, with the confirmed release of 76 of the 110 abducted students in the early hours of Wednesday.
”For the release to work, the government had a clear understanding that violence and confrontation would not be the way out as it could endanger the lives of the girls, hence a non-violent approach was the preferred option.
”Within the period when the girls were being brought back, operational pause was observed in certain areas to ensure free passage and also that lives were not lost.”
He said the “number of the freed girls would be updated after the remaining ones have been documented, especially because the girls were not handed over to anyone but dropped off in Dapchi.”