Seventy-six out of the 110 abducted Dapchi schoolgirls were released, information minister Lai Mohammed, has corrected the earlier figure quoted.
Lai Mohammed, made this disclosure in a statement issued on Wednesday by Segun Adeyemi,SA To Hon Minister of Information and Culture.
Lai Mohammed said that 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 19 Feb. 2018, has yielded fruits, with the confirmed release of 76 of the 110 abducted students in the early hours of 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.
