31 days after, FG rescues 104 Dapchi schoolgirls

…5 girls die, 2 still in Boko Haram’s captivity
…This is how govt should respond – APC
…PDP: No, Presidency stage-managed abduction for 2019 polls
Thirty-one days after the abduction of schoolgirls from Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, rescued 104 of the abducted girls.

A total of 110 Dapchi schoolgirls were kidnapped from the school on February 19, 2018. Unlike the over 113 Chibok girls who have been in Boko Haram captivity for almost four years, the Dapchi schoolgirls were so fortunate, given the prompt response from the Presidency and the security agencies in the country.

Out of the 110 girls abducted by the Boko Haram, 104 were said to have been freed, while five died in captivity, two are still held captive by the terrorist group.

But the news of the release of the schoolgirls came with mixed reactions from different quarters.

The Federal Government which confirmed the release of the schoolgirls on Wednesday, said that the number increased from 76 to 104, following the documentation of more of the freed girls by security agencies.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who gave the update in a statement issued in Abuja, said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining two girls.

He said that the documentation of the freed girls was ongoing.

The minister said the release of the schoolgirls was the outcome of the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to all security agencies to do everything possible to secure the freedom of the schoolgirls.

He said the girls were released at about 3am “through back-channel efforts” and with the “help of some friends of the country,” and that it was “unconditional.”

He said, ”For the release to work, the government had a clear understanding that violence and confrontation would not be the way out, as it could endanger the lives of the girls, hence a non-violent approach was the preferred option.

“Within the period when the girls were being brought back, operational pause was observed in certain areas to ensure free passage and also that lives were not lost.”

The minister, accompanied by Minister of Interior, Abdurahman Dambazzau; and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hajia Khadija Bukar-Ibrahim, were on their way to Maiduguri to meet with the freed girls.

In its reaction, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) described the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls as another demonstration of the political will of President Muhammadu Buhari to secure lives of Nigerians.

Malam Bolaji Abudullahi, APC National Publicity Secretary, said this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday while expressing delight over the return of the girl by their abductors.

He said, “The APC is extremely delighted with the news of the return of the schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, by Boko Haram.

“With this prompt release of the Dapchi girls, the APC government has demonstrated how government should respond to such situations.

“If the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration had responded with the similar alacrity, the Chibok schoolgirls would have been released or rescued.”

The APC spokesman noted that instead of giving the situation the urgency it deserved, the PDP wasted several weeks wallowing in denial and conspiracy theories.

This, he said, left the APC government with no choice than to rescue many of the girls and rehabilitate them when it came to power in 2015.

Abudullahi assured Nigerians that the APC-led Federal Government was committed to securing the release of the remaining Chibok schoolgirls still held in captivity by Boko Haram.

The APC spokesman added that government would ultimately rehabilitate and reunite the girls with their families and loved ones when they were eventually rescued.

He expressed confidence that the reforms that the government had embarked on would improve the capacity and efficiency of security agencies to prevent the kidnap of children by terrorists.

This, he said, would also diminish the ability of terrorists to carry out attacks on soft targets.

But in its reaction, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused the ruling APC and “certain officials in the Presidency of staging the abduction of the schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State, for political purposes.

The main opposition party stated this on Wednesday in a press briefing addressing the unravelling event.

The PDP said: “The Party considers this act as wicked, callous and tormenting to use innocent schoolgirls as pawns in an ignoble script that was designed to hoodwink Nigerians and orchestrate a great rescue and security prowess of a conquering general, all to push a 2019 re-election bid, is an unpardonable gamble with human lives”.

PDP said “that while this failed Dapchi drama remains a poorly crafted tragicomedy: a scam of no equal dimension, Nigerians are not ready to forgive the APC and the Presidency for the torments inflicted on the girls, their parents and the human community worldwide just to score a cheap political point.

“Nigerians know that the main aim of this devilish act was to delude the public, set the stage for an orchestrated rescue, create a heroic myth and false sense of achievement around the APC administration and serve as a spur for President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration to contest the 2019 presidential election, perhaps in the coming weeks.

“As a political party, we want to further state unequivocally that by all ramifications, this is a war crime against humanity and gross violation of human rights on the part of the APC administration, all in the bid to push a selfish and ill-lucked 2019 ambition”.

The PDP further alleged that “there is no evidence that the Boko Haram insurgents or any militant group abducted the schoolgirls in the first place. Rather, what is evident to all is the high level official manipulation of security movements in Dapchi both in the staged abduction and the returning of the traumatised schoolgirls”.

The party further said that it is instructive to note that till date, no report has been presented by the National Security Adviser (NSA), who has been charged by President Muhammadu Buhari with investigation of the abduction. This is in addition to deliberate efforts by the government to suppress free flow of information around the abduction.

The opposition party boasted that even the regular Nigerian on the street has examined the events leading to this abduction of our daughters as well as their release and can deduce the obvious.

“Nigerians are all aware that both the abduction and return of the schoolgirls were dramatically preceded by questionable withdrawal of troops and all security apparati at checkpoints and flashpoints in the Dapchi area.

“They are also aware that the Buhari Presidency, as the principal command centre of military operations, has refused to come out clear on the compromising of security and why no arrest has so far been affected in the entire saga, thus betraying a high-level of government conspiracy against the citizens for political reasons.”

The PDP therefore called on the United Nations (UN) and the International Criminal Court to declare this evil by the APC Federal Government a war crime against humanity and immediately commence investigation on the matter, adding “We demand the arrest and prosecution of all those involved in this saga”.

The opposition party also asked Nigerians to demand for the setting up of a UN monitored Truth Commission to unravel the facts around the Dapchi event as well as the abduction of Schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State in 2014.

It said that “while the party commiserate with the families of our loved daughters and rejoice with those whose daughters were brought home safely, we urge Nigerians to be alert and continue to monitor the activities of the APC as we approach the 2019 general election since it is now clear that this government will stop at nothing in its desperate bid to perpetuate itself in power against the will of the people”.

Reacting, President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, commended President Buhari, the Nigerian security forces and the government of Yobe State, for the effort that led to the release of 104 of the 110 abducted Dapchi schoolgirls.

He described their release as the answered prayers of millions of Nigerians.

In a statements signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki urged the government should do all within its power to ensure the return of the remaining Dapchi and Chibok girls.

“The release of the abducted Dapchi schoolgirls is tremendous news for the country. Our prayers have been answered.

“I commend President Buhari, our security forces and the Yobe State Government for their effort in bringing back our girls. However, we cannot stop here. We must not rest until all the Dapchi girls, and the remaining Chibok girls are back home with their families.

“I hope that the girls that have been released will soon be reunited with their families and loved ones. It is also necessary that we ensure that they receive the necessary care and rehabilitation that they need to continue to lead normal lives.

“I urge the affected families and the Yobe State Government to do all within their power to ensure that these girls continue their education — as this will be the strongest signal to their abductors that though they may have kidnapped their bodies — they will never break their spirits and their minds,” said Saraki.

Also, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), on Wednesday, expressed delight over the successful return of the 104 girls abducted by Boko Haram from Government Science and Technical School in Dapchi, Yobe State.

A statement issued by UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Mohammed Fall, also revealed that UNICEF is working closely with the Ministry of Youth in Yobe State to provide necessary support to the girls and their families.

“We are pleased to see that the girls are back in the safe environment of their families.

“UNICEF is working closely with the Ministry of Youths in Yobe State to provide the necessary support to the girls and their families,” it added.

The statement explained that over the last one month, the girls may have been exposed to physical and sexual violence.

The statement reads in part:” There is need to give support to their families and communities to feel safe and return to school. UNICEF is delighted that the girls abducted on 19 February 2018 from a school in Dapchi, Yobe state, northeast Nigeria were returned to their families.

“UNICEF is also working with civil society organizations to ensure that each girl receives individual attention from medical treatment to psychosocial support. Our condolences to the families whose daughters could not come home. As we await, we are grateful for the efforts of all parties in ensuring safe return of the girls to their families,” it stated.

UNICEF reiterated that schools should be safe spaces, and protected at all times adding that since the start of the insurgency in 2009, over 2,295 teachers have been killed and 19,000 displaced and almost 1,400 schools destroyed.

In its reaction, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) urged the Government of President Buhari to prioritise the well-being of the released Dapchi girls by immediately providing them with adequate medical and mental health services.

These include post-rape care and psychosocial support for those who have survived abduction by the Boko Haram terrorist group.

The organisation also urged “the authorities to urgently establish a judicial commission of inquiry to conduct a thorough, impartial and effective investigation into allegations of complicity against some members of the military and security forces in the abduction of the girls. Such commission should be completely independent, and have the mandate to find out exactly what transpired, and identify suspected perpetrators.”

“The report and findings of the commission should be made public, and handed over to a judicial authority to pursue possible prosecutions. This is the surest way to end the constant abductions of our girls,” the group stated.

In a statement by SERAP deputy director, Timothy Adewale, the organisation said: “We welcome the news that many of the girls have now been released. But these girls should not have been abducted in the first place. It’s now absolutely important for Buhari to implement plans to make schools safer for students in the northeast of the country, if his government is to put a stop to constant abductions of Nigerian girls.

“Never again should Nigerian girls be abducted from their schools. The fact remains that the authorities have failed dismally to protect the girls and Nigerians deserve some answers as to what the government is doing to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.

“When girls leave school, their futures can be irreparably harmed. Protecting our schools against any attacks would align Nigeria with the growing global consensus that schools must be safe places, even during armed conflict. Constant attacks on our schools would undermine the government’s commitment to get more children, especially girls, into school – free from discrimination, in a safe environment where they can learn, grow, and thrive.”

“Attacks on schools not only have impact on the lives of the girls and communities who are directly concerned, they also send a signal to parents and guardians that schools are not safe places for girls. “Providing a safe school environment is crucial to making girls remain in school.

“Education is a powerful tool to ensure that women are aware of their rights and know how to claim them. It gives women more negotiating power in all aspects of their life. It can protect women from harmful practices and other forms of violence. Education is also crucial for women’s participation in economic, social and political life and necessary to break the cycle of discrimination and exclusion.”