Five Dead, One Missing As Boko Haram Frees Abducted Dapchi Girls

FUNSHO AROGUNDADE

As the cheering news of Boko Haram insurgents release of the schoolgirls they had abducted from Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State on February 19, was received, reports have it that five of the girls died in captivity while one and the only Christian of the 110 abductees, Leah Sharibu  — was missing.

A security source familiar with the release said Boko Haram insurgents personally drove the girls to Dapchi without a single gun, exchanged pleasantries with villagers, and dropped them off.

“The girls were dropped off in the same nine vehicles with which they were kidnapped,” the source told ICIR, an online portal.

“Villagers already sighted them around Kusur, Yobe State, since Tuesday, which clearly negates government claims of fighting an unknown enemy. The villagers saw them, knew they were Boko Haram members, they came in and left without hurting anyone or having to defend themselves against being hurt by anyone.”

The Presidency on Wednesday confirmed the release of the schoolgirls.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed this in an interview.

Shehu promised to give further details on the development later.

“Yes, the girls are being transported to safety. We will give details later. We thank God,” the presidential spokesman said.

The Presidency on his Twitterhandle also corroborates Shehu’s statement.

“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. The DSS will be briefing the President and the nation in the course of the day.”

The girls’ release came exactly one week after President Muhammadu Buhari visited the school where they were kidnapped.

Buhari had during the visit last Wednesday reassured parents of the abducted schoolgirls that the Federal Government will not rest on its oars, until their wards are safely brought back home.

The President, who was accompanied by Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State, said he had directed full scale aerial surveillance and investigation to ensure that the girls were returned safely.

“I have read the full report of what happened in Dapchi. As I received the report, I was saddened and I am praying that God will continue to console you,” he said.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that Boko Haram insurgents have warned parents in the northeast of Nigeria not to endanger the lives of their children by putting them in schools.

Eyewitnesses revealed that Boko Haram insurgents told people in Dapchi town when they dropped the abducted schoolgirls that parents should not put their daughters in schools again.

“Don’t ever put your daughters in school again,” witnesses say Boko Haram warns as Nigerian schoolgirls freed, tweeted Associated Press on Wednesday.

As the girls about to be reunited with their parents, lots of questions about their release are on the front burner: was it a goodwill gesture by Boko Haram Islamists? Was a ransom paid? How were they able to come in to and out of Dapchi unchallenged? Answers to these are expected as the story unfold.