Dapchi Schoolgirls Kidnap: Buhari reassures parents children will be rescued, returned safely, as President visits Yobe

*Comparing Dapchi kidnap to Chibok kidnap senseless – Respondents

*Say Jonathan willingly waited for 18 days to act, Buhari acted promptly

“How can you compare a President who was busy listening to his spiritual adviser in then President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and his wife the First Lady, both of who believed there was no kidnap of 219 schoolgirls but propaganda by then leading opposition All Progressives Congress (APC)?  Recall that was what held Jonathan down for 18 days after the Chibok girls kidnap, despite cries by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, before he started to act.  If Boko Haram were to take the girls to China in 18 days, would they not have reached their destination? Then where is the comparison with Dapchi under Buhari?” They asked, adding that under one week Buhari’s government had known where the girls were and what to do to rescue them alive, unlike Jonathan who for over one year did not have clue as to where the Chibok girls were talk less of knowing what to do until he lost out at election and left.

After meeting with stakeholders in Damaturu, Yobe State, President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday proceeded to Dapchi where he reassured parents of the abducted schoolgirls that the Federal Government will not rest on its oars, until their wards are safely brought back home.

Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, stated this in a release in issued on Wednesday, copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER.

The released said that the President, who was accompanied by Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State, said he had directed full scale aerial surveillance and investigation to ensure that the girls were returned safely.

“I have read the full report of what happened in Dapchi. As I received the report, I was saddened and I am praying that God will continue to console you,” Buhari said.

President Buhari also said that government will ensure that the Boko Haram menace is totally brought to an end.

“Boko Haram was in control of many local councils in Borno and some parts of Yobe State before we came. Now it has resorted to using young girls for suicide missions in mosques, churches and motor parks.

“We will not spare their members. We will ensure that Boko Haram meets its waterloo. By the will of God, I have directed the police and reinforced them, and the army and air force to keep searching until the children are returned alive,” he said.

Governor Gaidam had promised that the state government would continue to provide all the necessary support to security agencies to enable them embark on a successful search and rescue of the girls.

In her remarks, the Principal of the Government Girls’ Science/Technical Secondary School, Dapchi, Mrs Adama Abdulkarim, said some gunmen stormed the school premises and started shooting at about 7.00pm on February 20, 2018.

“We had a roll call and realised 110 girls were missing; out of 906 girls, we had 796,” she explained.

A representative of the parents, Alhaji Bashir Manzo, appealed to the Federal Government to do all within its means for the safe return of the girls.

‘Comparing Dapchi with Chibok senseless’

In the meantime, a report has it that similarities have been drawn between the two abductions, after heavily-armed Boko Haram insurgents were able to take so many pupils without any resistance from security forces.

It added that Buhari’s predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, was lambasted for his delayed and lacklustre response to Chibok, which happened as Boko Haram rampaged across the northeast, seizing territory.

The Dapchi kidnapping occurred despite repeated claims from Buhari, his government and the military that Boko Haram was a spent force, as a result of a sustained counter-insurgency.

Some keen observers of events however dismissed the similarities being drawn by those who compared kidnap of 110 Dapchi schoolgirls under Buhari to kidnap of 219 Chibok schoolgirls under Jonathan.

One of them said, “How can you compare a President who was busy listening to his spiritual adviser in then President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and his wife the First Lady, both of who believed there was no kidnap of 219 schoolgirls but propaganda by then leading opposition All Progressives Congress (APC)?  Recall that was what held Jonathan down for 18 days after the Chibok girls kidnap, despite cries by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, before he started to act.  If Boko Haram were to take the girls to China in 18 days, would they not have reached their destination? Then where is the comparison with Dapchi under Buhari?” He asked, adding that under one week Buhari’s government had known where the girls are and what to do to rescue them unlike Jonathan who for over one year did not have clue as to where the Chibok girls were talkless of knowing what to do until he lost out at election and left.

Nigeria’s political opposition has called into question the extent of those claims and also urged him to meet parents of the missing Dapchi girls.

His visit to Yobe was part of a tour of states hit by unrest.

On Tuesday, the #BringBackOurGirls pressure group, who had weakened after it became clear that its intention was far from objectivity and patriotism, according to our sources, gave the government a seven-day deadline to free the remaining 112 Chibok girls and 110 Dapchi girls or face court action.

The group, which was set up in the wake of Chibok kidnap, accused the government of “incompetence and carelessness” and would sue it for criminal negligence if the girls were not freed.

In his speech, Buhari said he was aware of “orchestrations by some evil elements to take advantage of the development to score cheap political points”.

“The government, under my watch, will continue to maintain normalcy and ensure that incidents of this nature (mass kidnappings) are stopped,” he added.

“Be assured that measures are being put in place to achieve these objectives.”