106 Dapchi girls released: How they were rescued

No fewer than 106 Dapchi schoolgirls who were released on Wednesday has been handed over to Federal Government by the Nigerian Army.

The Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, presented the released girls to the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at the 105 Air Force Composite Command, Maiduguri.


Nicholas explained that 104 girls were part of the 110 abducted. He said the two other girls, who are not pupils of the school, were rescued from the insurgents by troops.

Contrary to the claims of Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed as well as Minister of Defense, Mansur Dan-Ali, it was reported that a handsome ransom was paid to Boko Haram to secure the release of Dapchi girls freed by the insurgents early Wednesday morning.

The ministers had denied that a ransom was paid to Boko Haram to secure the freedom of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in their school in Dapchi.


The two ministers said instead of paying a ransom, the federal government relied on ‘backchannel negotiations” to ensure that the girls were released by Boko Haram. The girls were released around 3 a.m

But investigations revealed that the federal government not only made ransom payment to the insurgents, it also exchanged some Boko Haram prisoners, who left in their 9-vehicle convoy in return for the Dapchi girls.

However, the lie that no ransom was paid to secure the return of the Dapchi girls followed a consistent pattern of such under the table millions of dollars payments by the Nigerian government to Boko Haram to secure freedom of abductees, especially since the advent of the Buhari administration.