We’re close to rescuing Dapchi schoolgirls – Defence Minister

The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, has said that the military is closing in on the abductors of the 110 students of Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, assuring that the schoolgirls “will return as soon as possible”.

The Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted when Boko Haram insurgents raided their school on February 19.

The Defence Minister disclosed this when he appeared on a Channels TV programme on Saturday.

He said, “I’m sure with the latest intelligence on information we are getting, we shall get them soonest.”
When asked how much hope is there for the rescue of the schoolgirls, Dan-Ali said: “I cannot determine, it is an intelligence, but it is as soon as possible.

When asked to give a timeline for their return, the minister said: “It can be earlier; maybe a week, it can be two weeks, but we are on it, and I’m telling you with all sense of sincerity that we are closing in on them.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had last week disclosed that the federal government was negotiating the release of the girls as one of the options to rescue the girls alive.