23022018 - Confusion over Yobe girls; angry parents stone gov

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018 —41
COMMISSIONING—From left: Director-General, National Space
Research and Development Agency, Prof. Saidu Mohammed; Director of
Energy Centre, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Prof. Paulinus Ugwuoke;
Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu; his wife, Chinyere;
and UNN’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Benjamin Ozumba, cutting a cake during
the commissioning of Science and Technology Building at UNN in Nsukka,
Enugu State, yesterday. Photo: NAN.
Confusion over Yobe girls;
angry parents stone gov
Continues from Page 5
the unfortunate event at the
Girls’ College and, under
his leadership, the Yobe
State Government will
continue to do everything
necessary in partnership
with security agencies and
the federal government to
address the situation.’’
FG not sure of true
situation of missing
schoolgirls – Lai
Mohammed
Also yesterday, the
Minister of Information, Lai
Mohammed, said the
Federal Government would
need more time to assess
the situation around the
community where the
schoolgirls were reportedly
kidnapped in Yobe State on
Monday.
“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,” the minister told
reporters shortly after he
arrived at Government
Girls Science and Technical
NAIRA WATCH
College, Dapchi, yesterday
afternoon.
“Give us a few more time
please,’’ he pleaded.
Alhaji Mohammed was
among the three ministers
that
President
Muhammadu Buhari
asked on Wednesday to
embark on an immediate
fact-finding mission to the
state.
His comments that the
Buhari administration
cannot immediately give
any details about the
situation came a day after
the state government said
some of the kidnapped
girls have been rescued
and handed over to the
Nigerian Army.
But that account now
seems to be in dispute, as
the Defence Headquarters
said the alleged rescue
could not be confirmed.
“We cannot confirm” the
statement by Yobe State that
some of the girls have been
rescued, Defence
spokesperson, John Agim,
said yesterday morning.
Similarly, a federal
lawmaker who represents
the community, said the
report that girls were
Naira depreciates further to
N360.66/$ in I&E
By Adaeze Okechukwu
THE Naira, yesterday, depreciated further to
N360.66 per dollar in the Investors and
Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange
market.
Data from the Financial Market Dealers Quote
(FMDQ) showed that the indicative exchange rate
for the I&E rose to N360.66 per dollar, yesterday,
from N360.40 per dollar on Wednesday, indicating
a 26 kobo depreciation in the naira.
The depreciation was prompted by an 11 percent
decrease in the volume of dollars traded in the I&E
window. The window recorded a turnover of $174.25
million yesterday, indicating a $20.98 million
decrease from $195.23 million recorded on
Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the naira remained stable at N362
per dollar yesterday in the parallel market for the
third consecutive day.
kidnapped was untrue.
“The military did not
rescue any girls yesterday
as being reported in the
media,” Goni Bukar, the
lawmaker representing
Bursari/Geidam/Yunusari
federal constituency,’’ said.
“I am currently speaking
with you from the school
and I stand here with the
governor and other top
military officials. I can tell
you that no girls were
rescued,” he added. “We
have only been able to
locate some girls in one or
two batches at different
places.”
Alhaji Lai Mohammed
arrived at the community
with Khadijat Bukar-
Ibrahim, Minister of State
for Foreign Affairs.
Governor of Yobe State,
Ibrahim Geidam, was on
ground to receive the team.
The Theatre Commander,
Operation Lafiya Dole,
Major-General Rogers
Nicholas was also on the
scene.
The minister and his
entourage were briefed by
the governor and the
General Officer
Commanding 3 Division,
Damaturu.
Shortly after the briefing,
Mohammed told reporters
that he was delegated by
the President to visit the
attacked community and
commiserate with the
victims.
He said his delegation
which also includes a
representative of the
Minister of Defence, was
also to find out the true
situation about the missing
schoolgirls, saying it was
still too early to determine
their whereabouts.
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,” he said.
He lampooned the Boko
Haram and said the sect
only attacked the school
because it is in its dying
days and craving media
attention.
“But we must understand
that these are the 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.”
We can’t confirm
Yobe rescue story
— DHQ
However, Defence
Headquarters yesterday
dismissed insinuations that
the Army had rescued the
missing girls.
“We cannot confirm the
statement by Yobe State that
some of the girls have been
rescued,’’ Defence
spokesperson, Brigadier-
General John Agim, said
yesterday.
Agim said he could not
give further details about
the military’s intervention
in the matter.
The police could not also
confirm if the girls had
been rescued as an aide to
the Commissioner of Police,
Sunmonu Abdulmaliki,
said the police had no
information that the girls
were actually rescued from
Boko Haram.
“There’s nothing we can
confirm,” said the CP’s
aide, who added that the
police would be working
with the team of three
ministers that President
Muhammadu Buhari sent
on Wednesday day to
travel to Yobe.
“We hope that after the
visit by the delegation, the
picture would be clearer,”
he added.
Senate condemns
attack, resurgence
of Boko Haram
Meanwhile, the Senate,
yesterday condemned in
very strong terms, the
resurgence of Boko Haram
insurgency in the North
East, following alleged
kidnap of of no fewer than
111 school girls of the
Government Girls
Technical College, Dapchi,
Yobe State.
Consequently, the Senate
yesterday asked the
Federal Government to
quickly recover the girls to
avoid a repeat of the Chibok
girls’ experience.
It also said it was
unfortunate and
disheartening that Boko
Haram was back to the geopolitical
zone of the country.
The position of the Senate
on the resurgence of Boko
Haram seems to contradict
claims that the insurgents
had been decimated or
defeated.
Resolutions of the Senate
were sequel to a motion by
Senator Abba Bukar
Ibrahim (APC, Yobe East),
who drew the attention of
the senators to Monday
night’s attack on
Government Girls’
Technical College, Dapchi,
in Yobe State.
Narrating the incident,
Senator Ibrahim, who noted
that 46 of the 926 girls in
the school had gone
missing since the attack,
said that no lives were lost
in the attack, though it was
still not clear if the girls were
abducted.
Senator Bukar Ibrahim
said: “On Monday,
February 20, 2018, some
suspected Boko Haram
insurgents attacked
Government Girls Technical
College, Dapchi, Yobe State.
“Concerned that out of
936 female students, who
ran into the bush, 46 are still
missing. 810 returned. I
understand that the
governor of Yobe State has
already got the military to
deploy military and the
police.
“So far, there has been no
case of killing. Nobody is
sure if it was a case of
abduction or some of the
girls who ran home have not
yet come back. These are yet
to be confirmed. The
Federal Government has
already sent a high
powered delegation; three
ministers to go and stay in
Damaturu and report to Mr.
President on a continuous
basis until the matter is
resolved.”
During discussions on the
motion, senators, however,
clashed over comments on
the governor of Yobe State,
Ibrahim Geidam.
Infact, the clash was
between the Senate leader,
Senator Ahmed Lawan
(APC, Yobe North) and
Senator Mohammed
Hassan (APC, Yobe South).
While Senator Lawan
hailed the governor for
being proactive, Senator
Hassan disagreed sharply
with the Senate leader.
Senator Lawan, who
commended the quick
response of President
Muhammadu Buhari and
the state government to
arrest the situation, said
what happened should be
an eye-opener that Boko
Haram now sees girls and
women as value target for
ransom, just as he called for
extra vigilance and security
in schools, especially in all
girls schools.
Senator Lawan said:
“What happened was
unfortunate and after the
Chibok incident, it was the
wish of every Nigerian that
it doesn’t happen again in
the country. I want to, at this
point, commend Mr.
President, Muhammadu
Buhari, for immediately
taking action by directing
the armed forces to move
into yobe to ensure that
book haram did not run
away with any single girl.
“I want to also commend
the governor of Yobe State,
Ibrahim Geidam, for
ensuring that parents were
comforted, for sending
officials of the ministry of
education to go round the
families and ensure that
they took head counts of the
girls from that school.
“What happened is a
lesson for us. That Boko
Haram sees girls or women
as value targets. What they
did in Chibok earned them
some funds, because
negotiations were held
somehow and they got a lot
of money.
‘’Now, the lesson is, we
need to be extra careful and
take extraordinary
measures in protecting our
schools; especially girls’
schools in Borno, Yobe and
Adamawa.
Countering the position
of the Senate Leader,
Senator Mohammed
Hassan, who noted that
the state government didn’t
deserve
any
commendation, said the
state government has
“failed serially” to protect
the people and that the
praise from Ahmed Lawan
was misplaced.
According to him, since
the incident happened,
there has been no single
report by the state
government.
He said: “In 2013, a
secondary school in
Potiskum was attacked,
where over 70 children
were killed. A year after,
another secondary school
in Mamudu was attacked
where school children
were slaughtered. There
was another attack in Buni
Yadi where students were
attacked, the state
university too was attacked
and now we have this one.
“This is quite
disheartening to hear, with
due respect to Senator
Lawan, to commend the
state government for
serially failing to protect
our students. This is the
primary responsibility of
the government; to protect
the lives and properties of
its citizens.
Stop paying Boko
Haram money —
Senator Lidani
In his contribution,
Senator Joshua Lidani
(PDP, Gombe South), said
he thinks Nigeria might
have emboldened Boko
Haram each time it acceded
to its demand for ransom
and urged President
Muhammadu Buhari to
show greater concern by
speaking to the people
when events like this
happens.
Lidani said: “I have a
difference in the manner in
which the mission was
carried out. The Chibok
incident ought to have
given us a signal,
especially those in the
states that are concerned -
Borno, Yobe, and
Adamawa.