Nigerian militants return 104 kidnapped schoolgirls

LAGOS, Nigeria – Boko Haram extremists have returned most of the 110 girls they kidnapped a month ago from their school in northeastern Nigeria, the government said Wednesday.

Fighters from the militant group drove into the northern town of Dapchi in nine vans and dropped the girls off early Wednesday, just after Nigerian soldiers withdrew, said Alhaji Baba Shehu, a resident.

“(Some) girls ran away to their home before being counted,” he said. “Still, we are happy. God has answered our prayers.”

Nigeria’s government confirmed 104 of the 110 schoolgirls were freed.

The minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said no ransom was paid. He said the release was obtained through “backchannel efforts” with the help of “some friends of the country.”

He said negotiations for the release of the remaining girls continue.

On Feb. 19, Boko Haram attacked the Government Girls Science Technical College as part of its campaign to terrorize schools and villages. The group’s name means “Western education is forbidden” in the Hausa language.

As the extremists dropped off the girls Wednesday, they told residents: “This is a warning to you all,” the Associated Press reported. “We did it out of pity. And don’t ever put your daughters in school again.”

The government had closed boarding schools in the area this week out of fear of further kidnappings.

Hajiya Aisa Bukar, 35, said her daughter, Aisha Kachalla, was among those returned. “I’m more than excited,” Bukar said. “I’m so happy to be with my daughter.”

Bukar said she saw the convoy of vans drop off the girls near the market square. The militants were clearly unafraid and in control, she said: “One of them waved a black flag with Islamic inscription. They stopped to take pictures with our youth.”

Residents and parents had been angry over how the government handled the latest kidnapping: It initially denied the students were abducted, then told parents the day after the abductions that most of the girls had been released.

An Amnesty International report released Tuesday accused the Nigerian military of failing to listen to multiple warnings of an imminent attack. The military said the report was not true.

February’s abduction brought back painful memories of the 2014 attack on a boarding school in Chibok in which Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls, 100 of whom remain missing. Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, including then-first lady Michelle Obama, called for their return on social media.

“We are happy. God has answered our prayers.” Alhaji Baba Shehu Resident of the northern town of Dapchi, where the girls were returned