The Federal Government has confirmed the release of 76 of the 110 students of the Government Girls Science Technical College, GGSTC, Dapchi, in Yobe State which were abducted on February 19 by Boko Haram insurgents.
The Federal Government has confirmed the release of 76 of the 110 abducted students in the early hours of Wednesday.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the 76 of the students were released in the early hours of Wednesday.
According to him, the 76 freed student are those who have been documented so far, adding that the release of the remaining abducted students is ongoing.
He said the girls were released around 3 a.m. through back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country, and that it was unconditional.
”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,” Alhaji Mohammed said.
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.
This is coming after claim upon counter-claims between the Defence Minister, Mansur Dan-Ali, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as well as the Bring Back Our Girls, BBOG, group over the timeline for the release of these school girls.
Recall that Mr Dan-Ali had been quoted, on Saturday during a television programme, as saying that the girls would be released in two weeks’ time.
However, the Minister had since denied having said so.
The minister, however, gave his assurances that the abducted school girls would soon regain their freedom as the military is closing in on them.
