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 on February 19, 2018, has yielded fruits, with
the confirmed release of 76 of the 110 abducted students in the early
hours of Wednesday.
In a statement 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.
