Olusola Fabiyi, Olalekan Adetayo, Kamarudeen Ogundele, Leke Baiyewu and John Charles
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said he was committed to the freedom of the only Dapchi schoolgirl still in captivity as when all the110 schoolgirls were in Boko Haram terrorists’ den.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this in a statement.
Shehu said the Buhari administration would not relent in efforts to bring Leah Sharibu safely back home to her parents as it has done for the other girls.
Leah was reportedly held back by the terrorists over her decision not to convert from Christianity to Islam.
The statement read, “President Buhari is conscious of his duty under the constitution to protect all Nigerians, irrespective of faith, ethnic background or geopolitical location and will not shirk this responsibility.
“The President is equally mindful of the fact that true followers of Islam all over the world respect the injunction that there is no compulsion in religion.
“To this effect, no one or group can impose its religion on another.
“His heart goes out to the isolated parents who must watch others rejoice while their own daughter is still away (in captivity). The lone Dapchi girl, Leah, will not be abandoned.”
The President assured the Sharibu family that he would continue to do all he could to ensure that they also had cause to rejoice with their daughter soon.
Friendly countries negotiated Dapchi girls’ release – FG
The Federal Government has said friendly countries and international organisations negotiated the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls.
The 105 girls were released on Wednesday, a month after they were abducted by Boko Haram in Dapchi, Yobe State.
But the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, called for investigation into the abduction and the release, which it said were stage-managed.
It also called for the release of the report of the probe panel instituted by the government to unravel the circumstances that surrounded the abduction.
The FG, however, accused the opposition party of plumbing the depths of infamy for saying the adoption and release of the Dapchi schoolgirls were stage-managed.
In a statement 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 was negotiated by friendly countries and reputable international organisations, it would have taken a conspiracy of global proportion to stage-manage the adoption and release of the girls.
He said, ‘’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 All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government acted promptly and responsively when the Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted on February 19, 2018, hence their quick release.”
The minister said it was unfortunate that the PDP which allegedly failed woefully as a ruling party had also failed as an opposition party going by its “insensitive and crude response to the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls – a development that calls for non-partisan celebration.
“In its 16 years in power, the PDP redefined governance as cluelessness, massive looting of the public treasury and crude exhibition of power.
“In its over three years in opposition, the PDP has again shown that it does not understand the role of the opposition in a democracy.”
Mohammed said the Federal Government had not been responding to the amateurish statements from the PDP because the party had failed to learn the ropes of being an opposition party.
“We broke our own rules this time because the PDP over-reached itself and scored an own goal at a time it could simply have congratulated the government and people of Nigeria on the release of the girls or just keep quiet,’’ he added.
The minister assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would intensify the ongoing efforts to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls and return them safely to their families.
Senate seeks release of last Dapchi girl
The Senate, at the plenary on Thursday, urged the security forces to secure the release of the last Dapchi schoolgirl still being held by Boko Haram insurgents.
The upper chamber of the National Assembly also sought the release of the remaining 112 Chibok girls in captivity.
The plea was based on a point of order raised by the Majority Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, on the “recovery, return or release” of the abducted Dapchi girls.
“We still have one more student of Dapchi that has not returned home. We still have 112 of Chibok girls that have not been returned.
“I want to use this opportunity to urge the Federal Government to leave no stone unturned in the effort to recover the remaining girl from Dapchi and 112 from Chibok,” Lawan said.
President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, tasked the Federal Government with ensuring the release of the last Dapchi girl with the insurgents.
He said, “I commend and thank all our colleagues for all their efforts from this chamber and for standing with the people of Yobe State.
“We commend the government, the President and the people of Yobe State for the efforts they put in the rescue of the girls.
“But there is one more girl from Dapchi, which all the security agencies must do their best to see that this girl is brought back, as well as the 112 Chibok girls.”
Buhari can’t take credit for his own failure, says Fayose
The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, however, said the Dapchi girls’ abduction was another evidence of the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari, adding “the President cannot take credit for his own failure.”
The governor said there was no basis for the All Progressives Congress to applaud the President’s claim of bringing back home the pupils that ought not to have been abducted in the first place.
Fayose in a statement on Thursday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said the fact that the abduction and the return of the girls took place without resistance was a sign that the APC-led Federal Government had lost the war against insurgency.
“It is also a clear indication that Nigerians can no longer depend on this clueless government for their safety.”
Fayose argued that the removal of military checkpoints in Dapchi ahead of the abduction, also showed the complicity of the l government.
“Despite security alerts by the locals, the military looked the other way, which necessitated the damning report by the Amnesty International.
“To the amazement of Nigerians, 24 hours after, the abductors brought back the girls. I believe the true story of this Dapchi abduction will be told one day,” he added.
Tsav hails release of schoolgirls
The Federal Commissioner representing Benue State at the Public Complaints Commission, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, has called on the Federal Government to adopt the same method used for the release of Dapchi schoolgirls to secure the freedom of the remaining Chibok girls.
Tsav, stated this at a press conference in Makurdi on Thursday.
The retired Commissioner of Police, who was formerly in charge of Lagos State, said since the Fderal Government had been able to achieve success in the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls, focus should be shifted to the Chibok girls until they regain their freedom.
“I understand that there are many Christians in the abducted Chibok girls than in the Dapchi girls. I am not saying there should be religious colouration, but all of us should unite and join hands to tackle the problem because we are all worshipping one God,” he added
He appealed to Boko Haram members to cease fire and allow peace to reign, adding that there was no way the society would develop if the people did not acquire Western education.
“The Boko Haram terrorists are insisting that people should not acquire western education. If there is no western education, we will not advance,” he said.
Tsav also faulted the security architecture of Nigeria, describing it as very porous and uncoordinated.
He maintained that Nigeria had many security outfits, but regretted that they were not coordinated.
He said, “The police should be at the fore front and if the situation is beyond them, then they can inform the military to take over the situation. That was how it worked in the past.”
‘Dapchi girls’ kidnapping’ll make good movie’
The lawmaker representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Senator Shehu Sani, said the abduction of 110 Dapch pupils by Boko Haram insurgents would make a good movie.
Sani, through his Twitter handle on Thursday, tweeted, “Since Dapchi has been turned into a Sahelian Tinsel Town, then Steven Spielberg or Spike Lee or Jerry Bruckheimer of the Pirates of the Caribbean needs to visit, to explore the possibility of a blockbuster.”
However, he could not be reached on the telephone to explain the tweet.
Sani had been involved in previous negotiations between the Federal Government and Boko Haram for the release of the Chibok girls under the administration of Goodluck Jonathan.
The lawmaker also tweeted on Thursday to charge President Muhammadu Buhari with taking a drastic action against armed herdsmen and bandits who were killing people across the country, including security agents.
Buhari asks security agencies to improve on intelligence gathering
President Muhammadu Buhari, however, on Thursday directed security agencies to improve on intelligence gathering, surveillance and ensure that criminal activities were brought to an end across the country.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President spoke in Gusau, Zamfara State, during a meeting he had with political leaders, traditional rulers and victims of criminal attacks in the state.
The President assured all security agencies of improved conditions that would facilitate arrest of criminals.
“As far as I am concerned, our security agencies have recorded some successes, but they need to do much more.
“They are not to oppress anyone, but they have to gather and send intelligence and warnings when something is about to happen,” he said.
The President commended the security agencies for eliminating a dreadful criminal, ‘Buhari general,’ who had initiated killings and destruction of property for many years.
“Before ‘Buharin-daji’ who calls himself a general, there was a criminal who killed many people and he was killed; ‘Buharin–daji’ has followed him and others like them should also follow,” he added.
Buhari said threats to lives and property would be significantly reduced with improved relations among community leaders, citizens and the security agencies.
“I have come here to commiserate with you over loss of lives and property. We will continue to do our best to improve the security situation.
“However, those committing atrocities live with you. Some of these people are not reported because you don’t trust the security outfits. We should give priority to security,” he said.
The President warned that the ongoing war against corruption will be reinvigorated and sustained until public officers, who abused their positions, faced the wrath of the law.
Buhari told the elders and traditional rulers that property that had been confiscated from some suspected corrupt public officials would be sold after the completion of court procedures.
On herdsmen attacks, the President said there was a need to revisit and review the old grazing area arrangements that guaranteed harmonious relationship between farmers and herdsmen.
In his remarks, Governor Abdul’aziz Yari, said the state government had deployed resources that were initially designated for development into fighting criminal activities.
The governor, who commended the security outfits for working hard to protect the state, pleaded with the Federal Government to improve the funding of operations, increase the number of security men working in the state and reimburse the state for the money spent on Federal Government projects like roads.
In his presentation, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Abdullahi Shinkafi, said the state faced three major criminal challenges of cattle rustling, armed banditry and abductions and demand for ransoms.
Listing out eight major flashpoints, the Secretary to the Government said 1,321 lives had been lost since 2011, while 1,881 people sustained various injuries from attacks, with about N14bn spent on fighting the menace.
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