*We are here in the school with the girls – Parents
*Presidency confirms girls’ release
*Needless expecting details of negotiation – Respondent slams critics
*FG’s strategy commendable – Nigerians
A respondent however reacted to those raising questions about whether ransom was paid or not by the government, saying, “What is the need for such questions if it is in our collective interest that the girls should be released. This is a serious security matter that expecting the government to expose his tactics will be more unpatriotic or unfriendly to the country. Considering the fact it took a government with all the huge resources in the past the rest of its tenure unable to trace the whereabouts of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls talk less of being able to secure their release, any sincere mind that is either patriotic citizen or friendly foreign national should praise President Muhammadu Buhari for this great achievement that what his predecessor failed to achieve for as long his administration lasted, he has been able to achieve precisely 30 days after occurrence,” he said.
Boko Haram insurgents, who kidnapped more than 110 schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State, Northeast Nigeria on February 19, 2018 have returned the students to the town, two parents told AFP on Wednesday.
It is a great achievement for the government of Muhammadu Buhari that what his predecessor failed to achieve for life over kidnapped Chibok school girls who were kidnapped without trace, this President has achieved exactly 30 days after 110 Dapchi girls were kidnapped, an apparently delighted respondent told The DEFENDER reacting to the good news of release of the girls.
A senior government source in Abuja and police in Yobe State also confirmed the girls’ return although it was not immediately clear how many of the 110 students had been freed.
The Dapchi kidnapping on February 19 brought back painful memories of a similar abduction in Chibok in April 2014, when more than 200 girls were taken without the then government being able to trace talk less that it would rescue any of them.
Bashir Manzo, who heads a parents’ support group in Dapchi, said: “The girls have been brought back. They were brought in nine vehicles and dropped outside the school at about 8:00 am (0700 GMT).
“I have the list of the missing girls with me, so I am now heading to the school to take a roll call of the returned girls to determine if any of them is still missing.
“These girls were not accompanied by any security personnel. Their abductors brought them, dropped them outside the school and left, without talking to anyone.
“We will get to know more details from the girls about their predicament while in captivity.”
Alhaji Deri, whose daughter was among those kidnapped, supported Manzo’s account in a separate phone call, adding: “We are here in the school with the girls.”
A senior government source in Abuja confirmed the release but said officials were still trying to verify how many girls had been freed.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said last week that the government had “chosen negotiation” to secure the return of the Dapchi girls rather than use military force.
“We are trying to be careful. It is better to get our daughters back alive,” he said.
Boko Haram has used kidnapping as a weapon of war during its nearly nine-year insurgency which has claimed at least 20,000 lives and made more than two million others homeless.
The Islamic State (IS) affiliate has not claimed responsibility for the abduction but it is understood that a faction headed by Abu Mus’ab al-Barnawi was behind it.
In August 2015, IS publicly backed Barnawi as leader of Boko Haram, or Islamic State West Africa Province, over Abubakar Shekau, whose supporters carried out the Chibok abduction.
Analysts have attributed a financial motive to the Dapchi kidnapping given government ransom payments made to Boko Haram to secure the release of some of the captives from Chibok.
Questions are likely to be raised about the circumstances of the release, particularly if Boko Haram fighters were able to travel in to and out of Dapchi unchallenged.
Yan St-Pierre, a counter-terrorism specialist with the Modern Security Consulting Group in Berlin, said the Dapchi girls’ release was not without precedent.
Earlier this year, a number of hostages, including university lecturers, were freed. But he said the latest release was “casual enough to raise a lot of questions, especially about the payment”.
“If they did pay, the Nigerian government likely paid a premium to accelerate the release in order to avoid another Chibok,” he added.
A respondent however reacted to those raising questions about whether ransom was paid or not by the government, saying, “What is the need for such questions if it is in our collective interest that the girls should be released. This is a serious security matter that expecting the government to expose his tactics will be more unpatriotic or unfriendly to the country. Considering the fact it took a government with all the huge resources in the past the rest of its tenure unable to trace the whereabouts of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls talk less of being able to secure their release, any sincere mind that is either patriotic citizen or friendly foreign national should praise President Muhammadu Buhari for this great achievement that what his predecessor failed to achieve for as long his administration lasted, he has been able to achieve precisely 30 days after occurrence,” he said.
Presidency confirms girls’ release
In the meantime, the Presidency has confirmed the release of the abducted students of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi in Yobe.
Giving this confirmation earlier on Wednesday in Abuja is Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu.
Shehu said that the girls were on their way home from the kidnappers’ den.
The girls were kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram terrorists after an invasion of the school on February 19.
