Hope for last girl’s release

Residents of the Nigerian town of Dapchi were hoping yesterday for the release of the last schoolgirl, who is also a Christian, from among a group of more than 100 kidnapped and released by Islamists.

Her freed schoolmates said the girl, Leah Sharibu, remained in captivity as she had refused to convert to Islam.

“There is so much expectation in the town following the news that the last remaining girl will be released,” Kachalla Bukar, father of one of the schoolgirls recently freed, told AFP late on Saturday by phone from the town in the northeastern state of Yobe.

“We were told she was on her way but she has not yet been brought,” said Kachalla, who is the spokesperson of the abducted schoolgirls’ parents union.

The authorities had asked shopkeepers to close on Saturday afternoon in anticipation of her arrival.

National police chief Ibrahim Idris told reporters on Saturday the girl “may be released today”.

But on Sunday, a spokesperson for the national police said that Idris’ comments had been “misunderstood and misquoted”.

“The misunderstanding may be as a result of the already released Dapchi schoolgirls expected back home in Yobe State today but could not arrive due to weather conditions,” spokesperson Jimoh Moshood said in a statement.

The police “reiterates that it has no information yet on the release of the last Dapchi schoolgirl”, he said.

In all, 105 of the 111 schoolgirls abducted on February 19 from their boarding school in Dapchi were released on Wednesday, raising questions about possible ransom payments.

They were brought back by members of the Boko Haram jihadist group in nine trucks.

According to witnesses contacted by AFP, the girls were held on an island on Lake Chad, which is a known stronghold for fighters loyal to Boko Haram factional leader Abu Mus’ab al-Barnawi. – AFP