Authorities in Nigeria have so far succeeded in returning 101 of the 110 schoolgirls kidnapped by the extremist Bok Haram group last month. Information Minister Lai Mohammed said on Wednesday the girls were released "unconditionally". "No money changed hands," he told reporters in the capital, Abuja. He added: "As of now, the number (of girls confirmed to have been released) has increased to 101." The extraordinary development brought elation to most of the families, but more heartache for the relatives of the nine girls still unaccounted for. The sister of one of the girls still being held captive fainted Wednesday upon hearing news that she was not among those freed. The Dapchi kidnapping on February 19 brought back painful memories of a similar abduction in Chibok in April 2014, when more than 200 girls were taken. One of the missing girls parents, Kachalla Bukar, said Boko Haram extremists shook hands and took pictures with them before leaving. Another parent, Alhaji Deri, said the remote town in Yobe state was "crowded with people celebrating" as word spread of the return of the girls. Fatima Gremah, 13, who was among those released, told reporters: "Boko Haram said we were lucky we were young.” Nigerias President Muhammadu Buhari said last week the government had "chosen negotiation" to secure the return of the Dapchi girls rather than use military force. Mohammed had earlier said their release was the result of "back-channel efforts" with the help of "some friends of the country", without elaborating. Military operations in and around Dapchi had been suspended "to ensure free passage" of the girls and also to ensure "that lives were not lost", he added. Nigerias presidency said separately the girls were in the custody of the countrys intelligence agency, the Department of State Services. Alhaji Deris 16-year-old daughter Aisha said they were not mistreated during their time in captivity. But she added: "When we were being taken away, five of us died on the way. "They brought us back this morning, dropped us outside the motor park and said we should all go home and not go to the military because they will claim to have rescued us." Fatima Gremah and another girl, Amira Adamu Mohammed, 16, both also said they were not mistreated and were given food to cook. Fatima indicated they were held on an island on Lake Chad, which is a known stronghold for fighters loyal to Boko Haram factional leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi. "They just told us on Saturday to get onto boats. We spent three days on the water before coming to shore, then they put us in vehicles and said they were taking us back home." Parents earlier told AFP the girls were brought back to Dapchi in nine vehicles at about 8:00 am. Some of the students headed to their homes in surrounding villages. Boko Haram has used kidnapping as a weapon of war during its nearly nine-year insurgency which has claimed at least 20,000 lives and made more than two million others homeless. Analysts have attributed a financial motive to the Dapchi kidnapping given government ransom payments made to Boko Haram to secure the release of some of the captives from Chibok. On Tuesday, Amnesty International claimed that the military ignored repeated warnings about the movements of Boko Haram fighters before the kidnapping. Amnestys Nigeria director Osai Ojigho said the abduction "must be the catalyst for the government to ensure adequate protection of all schools in the northeast so that this can never happen again".