Boko Haram warns parents to marry off daughters

Boko Haram issued stern warnings to the parents of the schoolgirls kidnapped from Dapchi, Yobe State last month to desist from sending their girls to school and advised that they marry them off instead.

Terrorists had driven a yet-to-be-determined number of schoolgirls back to the town early on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, a month after abducting the girls from their school hostel.

The Associated Press reported that the terrorists warned witnesses that the girls should never be put in school again.

According to another report by the News Agency of Nigeria, one of the residents, Mohammed Ali, said the terrorists argued the girls should be married off instead.

He said, "The girls were personally brought back by the insurgents. I shook hands with two of them, very young men but well armed. They warned us against sending girls to school, arguing they should be married."

101 girls confirmed freed

The Federal Government had earlier confirmed that 101 out of the abducted 110 schoolgirls have already been confirmed to be free.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed had earlier issued updates where he initially said 76 had been documented, before updating it to 91 girls and one boy.

During the previous update, he said, "Many of the children that were released were not dropped in one place - they were dropped on the road. They went back, naturally, to their parents houses and are now being asked to come and be documented at the centre."

He disclosed that the girls were released through back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country, and that it was unconditional.

He said, "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."

He said the number of the freed girls would be updated after the remaining ones have been documented.

Dapchi abduction

Boko Haram militants invaded Government Girls Science and Technical Secondary School in Dapchi, Bursari local government area of Yobe on Monday, February 19, 2018, and abducted 110 schoolgirls.

According to accounts by residents, the terrorists invaded the town around 7 pm in over 18 gun trucks mounted with high caliber weapons.

The abduction was a repeat of another Boko Haram attack that happened when militants invaded Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok and kidnapped 276 female students in April 2014.

After several escapes and releases, 112 of the girls remain in captivity of the deadly terrorist group.