More than 100 Nigerian schoolgirls remain missing

Feb. 25 (UPI) -- More than 100 girls are missing after suspected Boko Haram militants attacked a school in Nigeria on Monday.

Nigerian Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Mohammed said Sunday 906 female students were at the school on the day of the raid on the Government Girls Science Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State and 110 girls remain unaccounted for.

"We want to assure Nigerians that no stone will be left unturned in our determination to rescue these girls," he added.

The Yobe State Government had announced Wednesday that 80 girls had been rescued by the Nigerian Army.

The government later retracted the announcement and apologized for the "erroneous" statement, which it said was based on inaccurate information.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari tweeted Friday that the military has been deployed in response to the kidnapping and additional troops and surveillance aircrafts have been sent to monitor the area.

"The entire country stands as one with the families, and with the government and people of Yobe State. This is a national disaster," Buhari wrote. "We are sorry that it happened; we share your pain. Let me assure that our gallant armed forces will locate and safely return all the missing girls."

In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 270 girls from a school in the town of Chibok and about 20,000 people have been killed since the terrorist group began its insurgency in 2009.

One of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls was rescued in January , 82 were released in exchange for five top Boko Haram commanders in May 2017 and 21 were freed in October 2016 after negotiations with Boko Haram..