Dapchi attack: FG confirms abduction of 110 schoolgirls

The Federal Government has confirmed that about 110 schoolgirls of the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, are still missing after insurgents believed to be from a faction of Boko Haram invaded their school last week.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed the development after a meeting between a Federal Government delegation and key stakeholders, including the state government, the college management, parents, security agencies and Bursari Local Government in Damaturu on Sunday.

The minister added that based on the briefings from the Principal of the College, Hajia Adama Abdulkarim; and the State Commissioner for Education, Mr. Mohammed Lamin, 906 students were in the school out of which 110 have not been seen but were in the school on the day of the attack.

Mohammed also announced that the Federal Government has directed the police and civil defence to immediately take over the security of all the schools in the state in order to ensure the security of students and members of staff.

He further said that the Federal Government has stepped up efforts to rescue the schoolgirls and return them safely to their parents, saying that the security agencies are working on many leads regarding their whereabouts.

He said, ”This is the second time in four days that a Federal Government 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.”

On his part, the Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), 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,” he added.

The Federal Government delegation, comprising Mohammed and Dambazau, held an enlarged meeting that was attended by Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Geidam ; members of the state cabinet, the principal and vice principal of the school, representatives of the parents of the missing girls and security agencies, among others.

The Daily Times recalls that the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls has been shrouded with controversy. The military reported that about 94 girls were missing out of which 20 and later 24 were rescued.

This situation reportedly prompted the Dapchi community to attack the entourage of the governor when he told them that he was falsely informed and that none of the girls have returned.