The Nigerian military rescued 76 schoolgirls and recovered the bodies of two others on Wednesday, February 21, 2018, after the students went missing during a Boko Haram attack on a village, three parents, a resident and a local government official said.
“Everybody is celebrating their coming with songs and praises to God almighty,” said Babagana Umar, one of the parents whose daughter had disappeared. “The only sad news is that two girls were dead and no explanation.”
The rescued girls were returned to the village of Dapchi late on Wednesday evening, Umar and other residents said.
At least 13 students may still be missing, 91 people were unaccounted for after a roll-call at their school on Tuesday.
Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram attacked Dapchi in the northeastern state of Yobe on Monday evening.
Police and state officials said on Wednesday that there was no evidence that the girls had been abducted, though the Yobe government later said in a statement that the military had rescued some of the students from Boko Haram.
Nigerian authorities often deny or downplay such incidents, including the Chibok girl kidnapping and more recent abductions, as well as the scale of Boko Haram attacks in the northeast.
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