The Nigerian government said it has confirmed the release of 76 out of
the 110 schoolgirls abducted in Dapchi, Yobe State on Feb. 19, 2018,
by
Boko Haram militants in an ongoing process to free the students which
began to yield fruit early Wednesday morning.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of Information
and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the 76 are those who have been
documented so far, adding that the release of the 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.
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