DAPCHI, Nigeria — Boko Haram on March 21 released most of the 110 schoolgirls kidnapped from Dapchi, Nigeria, a month ago, but five girls still missing are now believed to be deceased and a lone student remains captive because of her faith, the Associated Press (AP) reported March 22.
A parent of one of the five missing girls were told by a student that the five girls died of injuries suffered in a stampede when Boko Haram abducted them Feb. 19 from the Government Girls Secondary School, the AP reported. The reportedly deceased girls were buried in graves in the bush, the student said, but the deaths have not been confirmed.
A sixth student still missing remains captive because she is Christian, a student told the AP. A released student said Boko Haram retained the girl in order to convert her to Islam.
Boko Haram released a total of 106 people, the Nigerian military said in press briefings, including 104 students and two townspeople who also had been captured in the February raid. The terrorists released the captives at the school in the middle of the night and warned parents not to educate the girls. In the Hausa language, Boko Haram translates “Western education is forbidden.” (BP)
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