More than 60 women and girls have escaped from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, security sources say.
The escapees had been abducted from Kummabza village in late June, the AFP reports.
The group is still holding more than 200 schoolgirls abducted about two months ago from Chibok.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau speaking to the camera in a video released in May
In comments reported by the BBC, local vigilante Abbas Gava told journalists he had “received an alert from my colleagues… that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had made it back home.”
Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in April, sparking international outrage and the #bringbackourgirls hashtag.
SEE ALSO: Nigerian Pop Star Offers Virginity In Exchange For Release Of Schoolgirls Kidnapped By Boko Haram
A month after the abduction, a chilling video purportedly filmed by the jihadi extremists was released.
It showed the Islamist militants and girls in floor-length Islamic dress speaking to camera.
A video which Boko Haram claim show the missing Nigerian schoolgirls
Speaking for around 17 minutes Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau said the girls have been converted to Islam and would not be released until Boko Haram prisoners are freed.
The girls are seen wearing black and grey Islamic dress called a chador (loose cloak) in an undisclosed rural location.
The group was founded in 2002 in Nigera's northeastern Borno district - where the schoolgirls may have been taken - and is committed to creating an Islamic state in Nigeria, where Sharia courts would dispense criminal justice.
Boko Haram - which means "Western education is sinful" - is only a nickname. Their preferred name is Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati Wal-Jihad, which means "people committed to the propagation of the prophet's teachings and jihad".
Boko Haram: Nigeria's Homegrown Terror
(01 of13)
A female student stands in a burnt classroom at Maiduguri Experimental School, a private nursery, primary and secondary school burnt by the Islamist group Boko Haram to keep children away from school in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, May 12, 2012.(PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty Images)
(02 of13)
In a Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011 file photo, onlookers gather around a car destroyed in a blast next to St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Nigeria after an explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass near Nigeria's capital Sunday, killing scores of people, officials said. A radical Muslim sect, Boko Haram, claimed the attack and another bombing near a church in the restive city of Jos. (AP Photo/Sunday Aghaeze, File) (credit:AP)
(03 of13)
In a Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011 file photo, medical officials try to treat a victim of a bomb blast at a Catholic church near Nigeria's capital at Suleja General Hospital in Suleja, Nigeria. An explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass near Nigeria's capital Sunday, killing at least 25 people, officials said. A radical Muslim sect, Boko Haram, claimed the attack and another bombing near a church in the restive city of Jos. (AP Photo/Dele Jones, File) (credit:AP)
(04 of13)
This file image made available from Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2012, taken from video posted by Boko Haram sympathizers shows the leader of the radical Islamist sect Imam Abubakar Shekau. (AP Photo, File) (credit:AP)
(05 of13)
Bodies of people alleged to have been killed in a Friday attack on a town hall meeting of the Christian Igbo ethnic group lie on the floor in a hospital morgue in Mubi, in the Adamawa state of northern Nigeria, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. The town hall attack, which left at least 20 dead, is one of a string of deadly attacks claimed by radical Muslim sect Boko Haram. (AP Photo) (credit:AP)
(06 of13)
An anti bomb police officer collect soft drink can bombs recovered from islamic militants in Kano, Nigeria, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Police said Tuesday that members of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram dressed in uniforms resembling those of soldiers and police officers when they launched their attack Friday in Kano. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) (credit:AP)
(07 of13)
In this Monday, Oct. 8, 2012 photo taken with a mobile phone, a police officer walks past a burnt out shopping mall in Maiduguri, Nigeria. (AP Photo/Abdulkareem Haruna) (credit:AP)
(08 of13)
In this frame grab from TV footage shot by the Nigeria television authority on Monday, Oct. 8, 2012 but aired Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, shows people lying down (condition of people unknown) on a street in Maiduguri, Nigeria. (AP Photo / Nigeria Television Authority) (credit:AP)
(09 of13)
A partially burnt down communication tower destroyed by Boko Haram in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Friday, Sept. 7, 2012. A radical Islamist sect claimed responsibility Friday for attacks on mobile phone towers which have crippled communications in Nigeria's northeast, as security forces struggling to control the violence said they had gunned down seven suspected sect members. (AP Photo/Haruna Umar) (credit:AP)
(10 of13)
Weapons and ammunition along with police uniforms and bulletproof vests recovered from suspected Boko Haram sect members, put on display in Bukavu Barracks in Kano, Nigeria, Wednesday, March. 21, 2012. (AP Photos/Salisu Rabiu) (credit:AP)
(11 of13)
Burnt our cars are seeing at the business and skills center following gun battle and explosions by the Boko Haram sect, in Potiskum, Nigeria, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012. (AP/Photo Adamu Adamu) (credit:AP)
(12 of13)
Burnt out school block following a gun battle and explosions by the Boko Haram sect in Potiskum, Nigeria, Saturday, Oct. 20 , 2012. (AP Photo/Adamu Adamu) (credit:AP)
(13 of13)
In this Wednesday, March 21, 2012 file photo, suspected members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, are detained by the military, in Bukavu Barracks in Kano state, Nigeria after an attack on a police headquarters, the home of a senior police officer and setting fire to a nearby bank. (AP Photos/Salisu Rabiu-file) (credit:AP)
Nigeria Unrest - Boko Haram Kidnap
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(01 of18)
Members of civil society groups hold banners and shout slogans as they protest the abduction of Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(02 of18)
One of the mothers of the missing Chibok school girls wipes her tears as she cries during a rally by civil society groups pressing for the release of the girls in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(03 of18)
Leader of Chibok community in Abuja Hosea Sambido (R) raises a newspaper reporting the death of two of the abducted Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(04 of18)
Members of civil society groups shout slogans to protest the abduction of Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(05 of18)
Members of civil society groups sit to protest the abduction of Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(06 of18)
Members of civil society groups hold placards and shout slogans as they protest the abduction of Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(07 of18)
One of the mothers of the missing Chibok school girls wipes her tears as she cries during a rally by civil society groups pressing for the release of the girls in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(08 of18)
One of the mothers of the missing Chibok school girls wipes her tears as she cries during a rally by civil society groups pressing for the release of the girls in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(09 of18)
Leader of Chibok community in Abuja Hosea Sambido (C) delivers a speech through a megaphone about two of the abducted Chibok school girls that have reportedly died, during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(10 of18)
Leader of Chibok community in Abuja Hosea Sambido (R) raises a newspaper reporting the death of two of the abducted Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(11 of18)
Leader of Chibok community in Abuja Hosea Sambido (C) delivers a speech through a megaphone about two of the abducted Chibok school girls that have reportedly died, during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(12 of18)
Soldiers walk to block the advancing civil society groups protesting the abduction of Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(13 of18)
Soldiers block the road to stop the advancing civil society groups protesting the abduction of Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(14 of18)
A soldier takes position to stop the advancing civil society groups protesting the abduction of Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(15 of18)
Nigerian Defence spokeman Major General Chris Olukolade (C) speaks to civil society groups protesting the abduction of Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(16 of18)
One of the leaders of civil society groups, Oby Ezekwesili (C), speaks to Nigerian officers about the abducted Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(17 of18)
A soldier takes position to stop the advancing civil society groups protesting the abduction of Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NIGERIA-UNREST-KIDNAP(18 of18)
Nigerian Defence spokeman Major General Chris Olukolade (C) speaks to civil society groups protesting the abduction of Chibok school girls during a rally pressing for the girls' release in Abuja on May 6, 2014, ahead of World Economic Forum. Members of civil society groups marched through the streets of Abuja and to the Nigerian defence headquarters to meet with military chiefs, to press for the release of more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted three weeks ago. Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped eight more girls from Nigeria's embattled northeast, residents said on May 6, after the extremist group's leader claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls last month and said in a video he was holding them as 'slaves' and threatened to 'sell them in the market'. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)