Muslim group questions withdrawal of troops before Dapchi schoolgirls’ abduction

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC​) has condemned the abduction of 110 girls from Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.

​Its Director, Isha Akintola, in a statement on Monday, lamented that the incident occurred after troops were asked to leave the area.

It expressed worry by the similarity in coincidental circumstances in the Chibok and Dapchi abductions.

“Both attacks occurred a week after troops were withdrawn from the towns. Even the 2013 massacre of 29 students in a secondary school in Buni Yadi by Boko Haram a week after the withdrawal of troops arouses our curiosity”, MURIC noted.

“There is ample evidence to prove that the insurgents spy on Nigerian troops and launch attacks during periods of complacency. We should have known that it is not over until it is over.

“However, MURIC commends FG for swinging into action hours after the Dapchi attack. The fact that three key ministers were immediately dispatched to the scene shows a world of difference between this administration and its predecessor.

“We call for an urgent investigation into the withdrawal of troops from Dapchi barely a week before the attack. We charge the Nigerian military to put other soft spots in the North East under close watch. We implore Nigerians from all walks of life to pray for the safe and early return of all the missing girls.

“This attack has exposed Boko Haram terrorists as a despicable bunch of cowards who turn their guns on unarmed innocent girls and the most vulnerable members of society. True heroes take on challenging targets.

“Once again, Boko Haram terrorists have proved that they have nothing in common with Nigerian Muslims. The abduction of Dapchi school girls is a flagrant violation of Islamic rules of engagement which forbid attacks on women, children and old people during hostilities.”