BREAKING: Boko Haram frees some of 110 kidnapped Dapchi schoolgirls

Some of the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants from the town of Dapchi, Yobe State, have returned to their homes, a report has said.

The BBC quoting eye witnesses reported that people said that many of the 110 schoolgirls were brought back in a vehicle convoy this morning.

The circumstances of their return is still not quite clear, but there are indications five of the girls may have died.

They were taken from the school more than a month ago.

Parent Kundili Bukar told the BBC the militants – believed to be Boko Haram – drove into the town in a motorcade and surrendered the girls to the community.

The militants are said to have left immediately. He said the girls were looking haggard and tired – although some reportedly found the strength to run home to their families after being released.

Another parent, Manuga Lawal, said he had managed to speak to his daughter Aisha, who was among the kidnapped girls, on the phone.

The police chief in Yobe state, Abdulmaliki Sunmonu, would not confirm whether or not the girls had returned, but said he had heard the same reports.

However, a military officer working at a checkpoint near the town told Reuters news agency : “Boko Haram have brought the girls.”

The girls were taken from their school on the evening of Monday, 19 February, by a group of militants who had attacked the town of Dapchi.