Boko Haram: Schoolgirls Evade Attack, As Shekau Escapes Army Arrest

Schoolgirls and teachers in Yobe state have escaped an attack on a boarding school by Boko Haram jihadists, witnesses told BBC.
They say the militants in pick-up trucks arrived in the town of Dapchi, Yobe state, on Monday evening, shooting and setting off explosives.
Alerted by the noise, staff and students were able to flee.
Residents and civilian militia in Dapchi say they believe the jihadists had planned to kidnap schoolgirls in their town too.
Elombah.com gathered, however, that after finding the school empty, the militants looted the building.
They say that Nigeria’s security forces – backed by military jets – later repelled the attack.
In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped more than 270 girls from a school in the north-eastern town of Chibok.
Last year, a group of more than 100 of the Chibok girls were reunited with their families at a party in the capital Abuja.
Most of the group were released in May as part of a controversial prisoner swap deal with the Nigerian government that saw five Boko Haram commanders released.
But more than 100 schoolgirls are still being held by Boko Haram, and their whereabouts are unknown.
Boko Haram conflict is estimated to have killed tens of thousands of people.
The Chibok girls represent a fraction of the women captured by the militant group, which has kidnapped thousands during its eight-year insurgency in northern Nigeria.
In another development, Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau escaped arrest by the personnels of the Nigerian Army by the whiskers.
According to reports, in a recent operation by the Army, Shekau escaped his hideout in Sambisa forest, leaving behind some of his clothing, chewing stick and a pistol.
A source from the vigilante force working with the Army told the BBC that the troops were very close to the hideout of the factional leader of Boko Haram in Sambisa when an order to retreat forced them to halt operation.