The Presidency on Wednesday confirmed the release of students of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State who were abducted by the Boko Haram sect on February 19.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed this in an interview.
Shehu promised to give further details on the development later.
“Yes, the girls are being transported to safety. We will give details later. We thank God,” the presidential spokesman said.
The girls’ release came exactly one week after President Muhammadu Buhari visited the school where they were kidnapped.
Buhari had during the visit last Wednesday reassured parents of the abducted schoolgirls that the Federal Government will not rest on its oars until their wards are safely brought back home.
The President, who was accompanied by Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State, said he had directed full-scale aerial surveillance and investigation to ensure that the girls were returned safely.
“I have read the full report of what happened in Dapchi. As I received the report, I was saddened and I am praying that God will continue to console you,” he said.
Buhari also said the government will ensure that the Boko Haram menace is totally brought to an end.
“Boko Haram was in control of many local councils in Borno and some parts of Yobe State before we came. Now it has resorted to using young girls for suicide missions in mosques, churches and motor parks.
“We will not spare their members. We will ensure that Boko Haram meets its waterloo. By the will of God, I have directed the police and reinforced them, and the army and air force to keep searching until the children are returned alive,” he said.
Boko Haram Islamists who kidnapped more than 100 schoolgirls in Dapchi, northeast Nigeria, just over a month ago have returned the students to the town, two parents told AFP on Wednesday.
“The girls have been brought back. They were brought in nine vehicles and dropped outside the school at about 8:00 am (0700 GMT),” said Bashir Manzo, who heads a group set up to support parents whose children were abducted.
