FG says no ransom paid as militants free 101 abducted schoolgirls

Boko Haram militants on Wednesday abruptly set free 101 of the 110 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped about a month ago from Dapchi, Yobe State.
The captors gave no reason for their release, but information Minister, Lai Mohammed denied that a ransom had been paid.
Several of the girls said some of their friends had died in captivity and one was still being held, for refusing to convert to Islam.
The fighters from the Boko Haram group, some shouting ‘God is greatest’, drove the girls back into the northeast town of Dapchi in a line of trucks in the morning, dropped them off then left, witnesses said.
Mohammed confirmed that the number of released school girls previously abducted from the Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC) Dapchi, is now 101.
The Information Minister had earlier said government would continue to update the figures, “especially because the girls were not handed over to anyone but dropped off in Dapchi.”
BusinessDay gathered that there are plans to move the girls to Abuja later today while they will be meeting with the President, thereafter.
A Federal government delegation including the Information Minister will meet the girls in Maiduguri before they are transported to Abuja.
Boko Haram has waged a nine-year insurgency in northeast Nigeria and neighbouring states that has seen tens of thousands of people killed, more than 2 million displaced and thousands abducted.
A 2015 military campaign drove the group from most territory it controlled, but much of the area remains beyond government rule, and insurgents still stage attacks from strongholds near Lake Chad.
Dapchi residents confirmed that more than 100 girls had returned on Wednesday.
“One is still with them because she is a Christian,” said Khadija Grema, a freed girl. “About five are dead but it was not as if they killed them – it was because of the stress and trauma that made them tired and weak.”
The girls have been moved to the Dapchi General Hospital in Dapchi where they are expected to meet with counsellors specifically selected by the government.

Lai Mohammed disclosed further that the girls who were released voluntarily by their captors in Dapchi are in good health adding that they are being documented.

According to Mohammed, the release was as a result of what he described as “back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country.”
He disclosed that “no ransoms were paid.”
“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,” Mohammed said.
Speaking further on what government is doing to prevent future occurrences, Mohammed said the President has beefed up security and directed the security agencies especially the Nigeria Civil Defence Corps, to secure every school.

”But you see we must look at this thing in contest, if you look at other countries like the US, Florida you saw how gunmen entered the school and killed about 17 pupils. Insurgency all over the world is a global issue and the government must always be on its toes. One of the things we have done today is that we have tried to secure the schools and there are even efforts on parts of government to even merge some schools,” Mohammed said.
Boko Haram never explained why the girls were taken, but many Nigerians speculated that the goal was ransom.
Boko Haram received millions of euros for the release of some of the Chibok girls last year.
The abduction piled pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power in 2015 promising to crack down on the insurgency. He is expected to seek re-election next year.

TONY AILEMEN, ABUJA