Nigeria: Some of 50 abducted schoolgirls rescued

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria has announced the rescue of some of the schoolgirls whose school was attacked by Boko Haram militants -- hours after over 50 of them were declared missing following an earlier headcount.

“The Yobe State Government hereby informs the public that some of the girls at Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC) whose school was attacked by Boko Haram terrorists have been rescued by ... the Nigerian Army from the terrorists who abducted them,” spokesman Abdullahi Bego said in a statement late Wednesday night.

“The rescued girls are now in the custody of the Nigerian Army. We will provide more details about their number and condition in due course,” he added.

Bego had earlier Wednesday announced that over 50 girls were still unaccounted for following the Monday night attack on the girls-only government college in Dapchi, a town some 100 kilometers from Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state.

In April 2014, some 276 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram in the northeastern town Chibok of Borno state, sparking global outrage about the atrocities of the insurgents. Nearly four years later, at least 113 of the girls remain in captivity.

Monday’s attack on Dapchi instantly brought back memories of the earlier abduction.