Boko Haram 'Apologised For Kidnapping Muslim Girls'

UK newspaper the Guardian is reporting that the kidnappers of the Dapchi schoolgirls apologised to the girls' parents as they handed them over, saying they thought the girls were "Christians not Muslims."

The Guardian quotes Mohammed Mdada, a local vigilante, who saw the girls being kidnapped in the town last month.

He told the news site that the militants said that "if they knew the girls were Muslim they would not have abducted them."

He added that,“they spoke in the Kanuri language and were dressed in black turbans, and they’d dressed the girls in cream hijabs."

“They warned the girls that they should stay away from school and swore that if they came back and found any girl in school, they’d abduct them again and never give them back.”

Mr Mdada is also quoted as saying that the five girls reported to have died, had been trampled to death in overcrowded trucks as they were driven away.

Nigerian authorities have said that 76 out of the 110 schoolgirls have been returned.

We are monitoring this developing story, so stay with us for more updates.