- The minister of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has attributed the abduction of some schoolgirls in Yobe state to a ploy to embarrass the current administration
- It was reported that Boko Haram insurgents stormed Government Girls Science and Technical College and abducted some girls, on Monday, February 19
- The minister urged the parents of the girls to be patient with government as it was still monitoring the situation of things
Following the recent abduction of some female students of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state, by Boko Haram terrorists, the minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that it was a ploy by the insurgents to embarrass President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
The minister, who arrived at the college on Thursday, February 22, said that the government didn't want to manufacture stories on the true state and number of the kidnapped schoolgirls, Vanguard reports.
NAIJ.com gathered that Mohammed urged the parents of the affected girls and the people of Dapchi community to give the government more time to tell them the exact situation of things.
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He said: “We are still monitoring the situation and what I want people to understand is that since two days ago some of the students who fled to neighbouring towns and communities had returned and more have been returning.
“When we arrived here we have been briefed by the governor and the GOC about the situation of the students. We know there are few students who are yet accounted for, but we don’t want to manufacture stories on this issue. But give us few days, we will be able to tell you exactly the real situation of things.
“But you can see response of the military, the response of the state government is quite commendable. Since four days now we have been following the efforts being made to arrest the situation. On the issue of the number of missing girls, we cannot give what we are not sure of, until we hear from their parents, we cannot say this is the number. Give us a few more time please.
“But we must understand that these are they dying days of the Boko Haram and what they intend to do is to embarrass the government because they have been degraded, they have been pushed out of Sambisa forest.
"They have been starved out of oxygen and the oxygen they feed on is publicity so that they can grab the world’s attention. But I can assure you that with the determination of our gallant military, the days of Boko Haram are numbered.”
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that one of the schoolgirls that recently escaped Boko Haram attack on Dapchi town of Yobe state, Aishatu Abdullahi, said it was not all of the students that were so lucky.
Aishatu claimed that the terrorists came in three trucks and that many of her classmates were still captured. She also claimed that those who escaped include their school principal, the vice principal and some other teachers.
She said: “My name is Aishatu Abdullahi. I am a Senior Secondary (SS) student of GGSS Dapchi. I was in the school when the Boko Haram insurgents came at exactly the time we were preparing to break our usual Monday fast. They were shooting guns and everyone was confused; then we started running helter skelter. We saw some people pushing some of the students to enter their vehicles."
Meanwhile, the Bring Back Our Girls group has demanded the whereabouts of the 94 Dapchi schoolgirls allegedly rescued by the Nigerian army. The group said the conflicting reports and information dissemination on the recent abduction of the girls can be likened to that of the Chibok girls in 2014.
Survivors of Boko Haram - on NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng