The five sisters being held hostage by their abductors have been freed by their abductors weeks after they were taken from their home in Bwari, Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
The police claim that the girls were freed in a joint police-army operation in a forest in northern Nigeria on Saturday night.
They were taken from their home in Abuja earlier this month, along with another sister who was later killed.
The kidnappers had demanded a ransom for their release, but the statement made no mention of one being paid.
Nigerian police said the girls had been reunited with their family following the operation, which took place near the Kajuru forest in Kaduna State at around 23:30 local time (22:30 GMT) on Saturday.
The six sisters, aged from the early teens to 23, were taken hostage alongside their father, Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, on 2 January at the family home in Bwari, a suburb of Abuja.
Witnesses said the girls’ uncle ran to find help but was ambushed and killed, as were three police officers.
The kidnappers released Mansoor on the condition he raise a large ransom, but his 21-year-old daughter, Nabeeha, a final year university student, was then killed as a warning, according to a family member who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity.
The ransom for the girls’ return was set at 65m naira ($68,000; £53,000), leading to many Nigerians donating to a crowdfunding initiative.
It is still unclear whether ransom was paid for the release of the girls.
The Nigeria Police is notorious for taking credit for release of hostages, even when ransom has been paid by families of victims for their release.
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