…Blast PDP for Statement
…Our Prayers Have been Answered, SayS Saraki
...Attack calls for immediate reassignment of 150,000 Nigerian police personnel to secure schools in volatile areas of the northeast
…A solid demonstration of the political will of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration to secure the lives of all Nigerians- APC
The Federal Government said a total of 106 abducted persons, comprising 104 Daphi schoolgirls, one other girl and a boy were freed by insurgents in the early hours of Wednesday.
Briefing journalists in Maiduguri, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said all the 106 persons were freed unconditionally, contrary to reports in a section of the media that ransom was paid and that some insurgents were swapped for the freed persons.
”It is not true that we paid ransom for the release of the Dapchi girls, neither was there a prisoner swap to secure their release. ‘What happened was that the abduction itself was a breach of the ceasefire talks between the insurgents and the government, hence it became a moral burden on the abductors. Any report that we paid ransom or engaged in prisoner swap is false,” he said.
The freed persons have been formally handed over to the Federal Government.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has accused the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of plumbing the depths of infamy for saying the adoption and release of the Dapchi schoolgirls were stage-managed.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said such postulation portrays the PDP as an inhuman, insensitive, unpatriotic and unworthy party.
He said since the release of the Dapchi girls were negotiated by friendly countries and reputable international organisations, it would have taken a conspiracy of global proportion to have stage-managed the adoption and release of the girls.
Alhaji Mohammed said the reaction of the PDP amounts to an expression of sour grapes, especially because the party failed woefully – when it was in power – to quickly resolve a similar abduction of schoolgirls.
”As we have said many times since the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls, no government is exempted from its own share of tragedies. What makes the difference is the way such tragedies are managed. Whereas it took the PDP all of 18 days to even acknowledge the abduction of the Chibok girls in 2014, the APC Federal Government acted promptly and responsively when the Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted 19 Feb. 2018, hence their quick release,” he said.
Meanwhile, President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has described the release of 101 of the 110 abducted Dapchi Schoolgirls as the answered prayers of millions of Nigerians.
In a statements signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki commended President Buhari, the Nigerian security forces and the government of Yobe State, for the ongoing effort that led to the release of the girls, stating that the government should do all within its power to ensure the return of the remaining Dapchi and Chibok girls.
“The release of the abducted Dapchi schoolgirls is tremendous news for the country. Our prayers have been answered.
“I commend President Buhari, our security forces and the Yobe State Government for their effort in bringing back our girls. However, we cannot stop here. We must not rest until all the Dapchi girls, and the remaining Chibok girls are back home with their families.
“I hope that the girls that have been released will soon be reunited with their families and loved ones. It is also necessary that we ensure that they receive the necessary care and rehabilitation that they need to continue to lead normal lives.
“I urge the affected families and the Yobe State Government to do all within their power to ensure that these girls continue their education — as this will be the strongest signal to their abductors that though they may have kidnapped their bodies — they will never break their spirits and their minds,” the President of the Senate said.
Also, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed delight with the news of the return of the schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State by Boko Haram.
In a statement by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary, the ruling party said “The prompt release of the Dapchi schoolgirls is another solid demonstration of the political will of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration to secure the lives of all Nigerians.
“With this prompt release of the Dapchi girls, the APC government has demonstrated how government should respond to such situations. If the immediate-past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration had responded with the similar alacrity, the Chibok schoolgirls would have been released or rescued. Instead, the PDP wasted several weeks wallowing in denial and conspiracy theories such that it was now left for the APC government to rescue many of the girls and rehabilitate them.
“We assure Nigerians that the current administration remains committed to securing the release of the remaining Chibok schoolgirl still held in captivity by Boko Haram and ultimately rehabilitate and reunite them with their families and loved ones.
“The Party is confident that reforms that the government has embarked on would improve the capacity and efficiency of our security agencies to prevent the kidnap of children by terrorists and diminish their ability to carry out attacks on soft targets.
Also, former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has welcomed the release of some of the schoolgirls freed by Boko Haram on Wednesday morning four weeks after they were kidnapped from their school in Dapchi, Yobe State.
In a press statement released by his media office in Abuja on Wednesday, Atiku said he was gladdened by the return of the girls and expressed joy that some families who had been heartbroken will now have the tears wiped from their faces, as will other Nigerians who were distressed by the kidnappings.
“This is a moment of joy for all of us as a nation,” he said. “We may not all be in Dapchi at the moment but we are all celebrating with the families, the community and the entire Yobe State.”
Atiku, however, noted that the grief of the parents whose daughters weren’t returned would probably take on a new and more tormenting dimension, as they continue to wait and pray for their safe return.
“May God continue to strengthen and give them hope,” he said.
According to the statement, the former Vice President believes that while the events of today are fresh in our heads, a call for a more permanent solution to the problem of kidnapping of girls from schools should be found.
He proposed several ideas including the immediate reassignment of 150,000 Nigerian police personnel to secure schools in volatile areas of the northeast. In addition, the government should look at redesigning schools to make them more secure from attack including the addition of safe rooms.
“We cannot continue to allow our daughters to be used as instruments of negotiation, subject to capture and release at the whim of any group,” he said.
“For the sake of our youth who embody the best of our tomorrow, we must confront this Frankenstein monster. Working together as a Nation we can and must bring an end to this. Not a day must be wasted in finding solutions. We must make it safe so our girls and women in every part of the country can study and flourish in peace”.
