BOKO Haram extremists have returned almost all of the 110 girls abducted from their Nigerian school a month ago with an ominous warning, witnesses said.

The fighters rolled into Dapchi at around 2am local time in nine vehicles and the girls were left in the centre of town. Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden” in the Hausa language.

As terrified residents emerged from their homes, the extremists said “this is a warning to you all”, said resident Ba’ana Musa .

“We did it out of pity. And don’t ever put your daughters in school again,” the extremists said.

Nigeria’s government said 101 of the 110 schoolgirls had been confirmed freed and that the number “would be updated after the remaining ones have been documented”.

“No ransoms were paid,” information minister Lai Mohammed said in a statement.

The girls were released “through back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country, and it was unconditional”.

Family members travelled to the town on Wednesday morning.

“When I get there we will do a headcount to see if all of them have been released,” said Bashir Manzo, whose 16-year-old daughter was among those kidnapped during the February 19 attack.

Manzo confirmed that his daughter was among those freed: “As I speak to you there is jubilation in Dapchi,” he said.

The mass abduction and the government response brought back painful memories of the 2014 attack on a boarding school in Chibok. Boko Haram militants abducted 276 girls, and about 100 of them have never returned.

Some girls were forced to marry their captors, and many had children fathered by the militants.

The latest mass abduction is thought to have been carried out by a Boko Haram splinter group aligned with Daesh, one that has criticised the leader of the main organisation for targeting civilians and has focused instead on military and Western targets.

Residents in Dapchi fled on Wednesday morning upon hearing that Boko Haram were heading towards the town.