Information from sources in Dapchi indicated that the girls were brought back and dumped in the village by unknown persons believed to be Boko Haram militants.
The chairman of the Dapchi Schoolgirls Parents, Bashir Manzo, confirmed the girls were brought to Dapchi.
“My relatives and colleagues in Dapchi just informed me that the girls were brought this morning,” he said.
“I am heading to Dapchi now from Damaturu. When I get there we will do a head count to see if all of them have been released,” he said.
Also, Goni Bukar, a federal lawmaker representing Bursari/Geidam/Yunusari Federal Constituency under which Dapchi falls, told PREMIUM TIMES the girls have been released.
“I want to congratulate all of us that our girls have finally been released,” Mr. Bukar said. “They are now being counted to be sure of how many of them were freed.”
The lawmaker said he would announce the development at plenary today once he has been informed of the total number of girls released.
The military could not immediately confirm the development to PREMIUM TIMES.
The state’s police commissioner said he heard about such a development but could not confirm its authenticity.
He said he came to Abuja and just got to Jos on his way back to Damaturu.
But a top police source in the state confirmed that the girls were dropped outskirts of the town.
It is not yet clear if all the 110 kidnapped girls were freed.
More to come…
UPDATE: A top police source in the state confirmed that the girls were dropped outskirts of the town.
UPDATE: Presidency confirms the release of the girls.
The presidency tweeted Wednesday: “Details about the released Dapchi girls will be made available in due course. The girls are now in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), in Dapchi”.
It also said the State Security Service, also called DSS, “will be briefing the President and the nation in the course of the day”.
UPDATE: Nigerian government has confirmed 76 girls have been so far released. That means 34 are still not accounted for.
Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, says the girls were released at about 3.00 a.m Wednesday through “back-channel efforts” and with the help of some friends of the country.
”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,” he said.
”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,” Mr. 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.”
UPDATE: A military source confirmed that the girls have been released, but said more details need to be established before official statement could be made.
“I’ve been told not to say anything yet, we’re working in the direction of a coordinated statement” the source said.
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