104 Girls Abducted By Boko Haram Were Returned

104 missing school girls in Nigeria are returning home after being held captive for more than a month.

110 girls were recently abducted by Boko Haram. The Islamist militant group has been kidnapping raping and trafficking girls in the region for years. This group of girls were taken while they were at school.

Nigeria’s government says 104 of the 110 abducted school girls are now free, though the captors gave no reason for the release when they dropped the girls back in their home village. The government says no ransom was paid or prisoners' exchanged.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed stated, “It was agreed that there will be no force, no confrontation, so that’s why it was possible for them to drop the girls."

Several girls who returned said some of their friends died in captivity, though the government hasn’t confirmed if any girls died. It says officials are still working to account for the remaining six. Reports say witnesses received a warning when the girls were dropped off: “Don’t ever put you daughters in school again.”

The freed girls are being flown to the capital, Abja, to undergo medical screenings and debriefings. Hopefully more kidnappings won’t take place — especially in schools.