Four more Chibok girls escape from Boko Haram captors says official

Some of the Chibok girls in a video released by Boko Haram

Four more schoolgirls are reported to have escaped after being kidnapped by Boko Haram gunmen in Nigeria.

Officials in Borno state originally said 53 students had fled their captors shortly after the mass abduction at their school at Chibok in April.

Borno education commissioner Musa Inuwa said today that four more girls had been reunited with their parents without authorities being told.

He said it is not known when they escaped and told Reuters news agency: “It was a little after the original escapes but we doubt it was a recent escape.”

But other reports say the students were released by their captors after falling ill.

The chairman of Chibok Local Government Area, Bana Lawan, said today the four girls were set free by Boko Haram yesterday.

Yesterday the Nigerian military claimed to know where the girls are being held – but said it would not risk a rescue mission.