The Federal Government has confirmed that 110 students of the Government
Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, are still
missing.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
minister of information, disclosed this to newsmen in Damaturu after a
closed door meeting between a federal government delegation,Yobe
government, security agencies, community leaders and parents of the
missing schoolgirls.
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/02/yobe-school-attack-lai-mohammed-confirms-110-girls-unaccounted/
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, minister of information, disclosed this to newsmen in Damaturu after a closed door meeting between a federal government delegation,Yobe government, security agencies, community leaders and parents of the missing schoolgirls
He said based on the briefings from the Principal of the College, Hajia
Adama Abdulkarim and the Commissioner for Education, Mohammed Lami, 906
students – out of whom 110 have not been accounted for – were in the
school on the day of the attack.
However, parents of the schoolgirls yesterday released a list of 105 with the name of one of them missing.
The schoolgirls were kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram insurgents who attacked the school last Monday.
Mohammed announced that the Federal Government has directed the police
and civil defence authorities in the state to immediately deploy their
personnel to all the schools in order to ensure the security and safety
of the students and their staff members.
He disclosed that the Federal Government has stepped up efforts to
rescue the girls and return them safely to their parents, saying the
security agencies were working on many leads to unravel the whereabouts
of the girls.
“This is the second time in four days that a Federal Government’s
delegation would visit Yobe State since the unfortunate incident. This
is a measure of the seriousness with which we are addressing the issue.
The security forces are leaving no stone unturned in their search for
the girls.
“We are back here in Yobe as part of efforts to provide some succour to
the parents of the girls, to let them know that they are not alone and
also to reassure them that we will not rest until we have found the
girls. We will carry the parents along on the efforts we are making,’’
he said.
Minister of Interior, Dambazau, said the delegation embarked on the trip
in order to get the facts right “so that the approach to the solution
can be correct. We must get back the girls and also ensure that this
does not happen again.’’
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said it has embarked on a 24-hour search for the missing schoolgirls.
NAF said it has deployed more air assets, including Intelligence,
Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms in its renewed effort at
locating and rescuing the kidnapped schoolgirls alive.
NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Vice Marshal
Olatokunbo Adesanya, who made this known said following confirmation of
reports that some of the girls were yet to be accounted for, the NAF
deployed some ISR platforms and helicopters to search for and possibly
locate the missing girls as well as the rogue Boko Haram terrorists.
Adesanya, in the statement said: “Although these search operations were
conducted in a covert manner, for obvious reasons, the efforts did not
yield the desired results. Accordingly, the Chief of the Air Staff
(CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, directed the immediate deployment
of additional air assets and NAF personnel to the North-East with the
sole mission of conducting day and night searches for the missing girls.
“It is noteworthy that the renewed efforts at locating the girls are
being conducted in close liaison with other surface security forces.
“While the NAF will spare no efforts at possibly locating the girls via
its air operations, it also seizes this opportunity to call on anyone,
especially the locals, who might have any information that could lead to
the location of the girls to bring such information forward to NAF
authorities or other relevant security agencies,” NAF said.
The Governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Gaidam, has again indicted the
Nigeria military for the attack on Dapchi town and the abduction of the
schoolgirls.
He said the attack came barely a week after the military withdrew troops from the town.
He said if the soldiers had been on ground, the attack and subsequent abduction would have been averted.
Gov. Gaidam said this when he hosted the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, who was in Damaturu on a sympathy visit.
“I blame the whole attack on Dapchi on the military and the defence headquarters who withdrew troops from Dapchi…”
Governor Gaidam said the excuses given to him by the Theatre Commander
that the withdrawal was due to shortage of personnel was unacceptable.
“When I met the Theatre commander on why the military where withdrawn,
he said they have shortage of manpower. To me, it is not an excuse
because it’s duty bound for the FG to recruit and bridge the gap,” he
added.
The attack occurred barely a week after the military withdrew soldiers from there, the Yobe governor claimed.
Before then, Dapchi has been peaceful, there was never such incident.
But just a week after they withdrew the troops, Boko Haram came to
attack the town.
The governor said the Dapchi incident was not the first time the absence
of soldiers in the Boko Haram troubled state would expose residents to
such kind of attacks.
“Let me be quoted anywhere, the military must take blame for the attack
on Dapchi. The same thing happened in 2013 when the military suddenly
removed troops guarding the town and a week later Boko Haram went there
to attack the town and the secondary school there killing 29 students.”
Gov. Shettima who expressed his sympathy to the government and people of
Yobe State over the “unfortunate incident” said the abduction reminded
him of conspiracy theories regarding the Chibok case.
“Your Excellency, I have been in your shoes since 2014 when schoolgirls
were abducted in Chibok. I know exactly how you feel. When our daughters
were abducted in Chibok, only God understood how I felt and I can
imagine how you also feel, and the trauma you are going through. The
parents of these girls would always look up to you with hope in the
midst of agony. I know you are pained but I also believe that Insha
Allah, these girls will be rescued very soon. It is unfortunate that we
have faced yet another abduction but that only reminds us about the
difficulties of fighting insurgency,” Shettima said.
The Borno governor said he was in Yobe not just as governor but also to
represent the Northern Governors Forum (NGF), noting that the forum
shared in the grief of the people of Yobe State.
“We stand by you at this difficult time. We share the grief of parents
whose daughters are affected by this unfortunate incident. They are not
their daughters alone, they are our daughters as well,” Shettima said.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have accused the Federal Government
and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of shedding Crocodile tears.
The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola
Ologbondiyan, urged the government and the APC to stop the tears and
provide answers to urgent questions surrounding the abduction of the
schoolgirls by insurgents.
The opposition party said the Presidency has a lot of questions to
answer regarding the alleged compromise of security personnel around the
area as well as “the misleading reports that frustrated immediate
rescue of the abducted girls.”
The party said Nigerians were shocked by
revelations by Governor Gaidam that the abduction was preceded by
withdrawal of troops around Dapchi thereby rendering the area
defenceless and paving the way for insurgents to attack and abduct the
girls.
“We challenge the Presidency to come out clean on issues surrounding
this abduction. Who authorized the said withdrawal of troops from the
area and for what purpose? What alternative security measures were put
in place to protect the people after the troops were withdrawn?” the
party queried.
Besides, it challenged the Federal Government to speak up “on who
scripted and released the false rescue report which frustrated prompt
action that would have led to the recovery of our innocent girls? Why
was that misleading report issued and whose interest did it serve?”
Similarly, the 19 Northern states chapter of the Christian Association
of Nigeria (CAN) in a statement by its spokesman, Rev. John Joseph Hayab
in Kaduna said it was deeply concerned about the “return of kidnappings
of large girls again in Nigeria.”
It said government and the security agencies must sit-up. “The girls
must not stay long like the previous before they are released. The girls
must be brought back alive. The young girls are Nigerians; they need the
protection of the Nigerian government. These girls can be anybody’s
daughters.
CAN is saying the Nigeria security agencies must not play the
propaganda game any more. They should go after the criminals that have
abducted these girls. The security should take serious action and stop
making noise and confusing people.”