Released Dapchi girls recall ordeals

-Spend 3 days on road

-Girls not molested, promise fulfi lled – FG

-Shows Buhari working – APC

-Senate commends Buhari

-It’s stage-managed – PDP

-105 freed, 4 die, one held back

Released Dapchi girls recall ordeals and Abdulrahman Zakariyau, Abuja The agony of abducted Dapchi school girls’ parents came to an end yesterday, as the Boko Haram abductors returned the girls to Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state, where they picked them.
The return trip, according to the girls, lasted three strenuous days.
Blueprint observes that upon arrival, the girls were looking worn-out and covered with dust.
An official position from the federal government put the figure of the released girls at 105.
While the government is silent on the fate of the yet- to-be released girls as at the time of this report, it however gathered that five of the girls could not reunite with their families.
One of them, according to our findings, was held back because she ‘refused’ to dump her Christian faith for Islam as demanded by the terrorists.
For the four others, our sources said, they died on the day of the abduction, following psychological trauma, overcrowding, stress and related challenges encountered by them while the journey lasted.
The deceased girls, according to the survivors, had since been given mass burial by their abductors.
Eye witness account An eye witness told Blueprint that “the terrorists honourably returned the girls around 8.
30am on Wednesday 21/3/2018 with an order that; we should not send our daughters to pursue western education any longer.
” The terrorists, who were mostly between the ages of 13-18 years, were dressed in military camouflage, wiTheach of them brandishing one or two AK-47 rifles.
In a commando style, the source added, they drove into the town and straight to the school in eight Hilux vans, carrying their black flag with white Arabic inscription.
It was also observed that residents were waving at the terrorists while driving out of the town after they had discharged the girls.
To the surprise of all, the 24-hour aerial surveillance earlier ordered by the federal government before the girls’ release came to a halt, with troops and other security agents visibly off their various duty posts.
This much was confirmed by Kachalla Modu, a resident who said, “no security personnel was sighted, there was no slightest confrontation by the security.
” It was however gathered that troops were withdrawn from the troubled Dapchi community hours before the arrival of the girls, being a condition given by the terrorists.
Parents’ joy One of the jubilant parents, Garba M. Yakubu, was full of appreciation to God.
“I want to thank Allah for His mercy, my daughter Zainab Abubakar is back.
She even came home and we ate food together before she was called to go to Dapchi General Hospital.
” Similarly, another parent, Hauwa Mohammed, mother of Hadiza said, “today is the happiest day in my life, the day my daughter was released from the abductors.
Even, you journalists are happy too.
My daughter told me that they spent three days on the journey before reaching Dapchi, and that the journey was a huge stress.”

Unlucky mother  But it was not same with Mrs. Rebecca Sherubu, mother of the only female Christian abducted girl who claimed her daughter did not return because she refused to convert to Islam as demanded by her abductor.
At the General Hospital Dapchi where the girls were receiving some medical attention, security personnel denied journalists access to the girls on the instruction that they were not permitted to do so.
The people of the community thanked President Muhammad Buhari for the timely rescue of the girls, even as they called on the federal government to put measures in place to forestall a reoccurrence.
Update on girls ‘release Meanwhile, the federal government has revealed that the number of the released schoolgirls has increased from 76 to 105.
This, according to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, followed the documentation of more of the freed girls by security agencies.
The minister, who gave the update in a statement issued in Abuja, said the number could still increase as the documentation of the freed girls was still ongoing.
Mohammed, had in an earlier statement, confirmed the release of 76 of the 110 abducted students.
According to him, the release of the schoolgirls was the outcome of the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to all security agencies to do everything possible to secure the freedom of the schoolgirls.
He said the girls were released around 3a.m.
“through back-channel efforts” and with the “help of some friends of the country,” and that it was “unconditional.
” “For the release to work, the government had a clear understanding that violence and confrontation would not be the way out, as it could endanger the lives of the girls, hence a non-violent approach was the preferred option.
” Confirming the withdrawal of troops ahead of the girls’ arrival, Mohammed said, “within the period when the girls were being brought back, operational pause was observed in certain areas to ensure free passage and also that lives were not lost.

Buhari orders Mohammed, 3 others to Maiduguri Earlier, President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday ordered Mohammed and three other ministers to proceed to Dapchi, for an update on the released school girls.
They are Mansur Dan-Ali, Defence; Abdulrahman Danbazau, Interior; and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hajiya Khadijat Abba-Ibrahim.
The quartet left the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting for the trip to Dapchi.
According to the information minister, when the girls were dropped in their school by the abductors many of them went straight home to reunite with their parents.
“I can confirm that the Dapchi girls have been returned.
What we can confirm to you is that Mr. President did actually assure Nigerians that the abducted girls would be released, but he also said that violence and confrontation would be ruled out.
“Based on that, the federal government, with the support of friendly countries, embarked on back term negotiations; this back term negotiation has led to the release of these girls.
“What I can confirm today is that these girls were released yesterday, but on the conditions, number one is that they were released unconditionally; no money changed hands.
“Number two, they had one condition to return them to where they picked them.
So, in the early hours of today, they did return the girls, but of course, most of the girls went to their parent’s homes,” he said.
“It is a day of joy for Nigerians.
What I can assure you is that Mr. President has kept his promise.
The girls have been released and we will tell you exactly in a few hours time how many of them have been documented.
They were not molested,” Mohammed added.
Also, his defence counterpart, Dan Ali attributed the early release of the girls to “the effort of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces for the support he has been giving us and the output is showing now.
” On the negotiations, the minister said while it was being planned, the government was prepared to move on a position of strength.
Similarly, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hajiya Abba-Ibrahim said: “I am very excited today.
That is what I feel because the Dapchi girls have been released.
“We are very happy.
We have achieved what we have gone out to achieve and we thank the Almighty God for his mercies.
” On causalities, she said, “as far as I know now, they are taking a roll call, so we cannot ascertain how many have passed on, but we will find out later on what the casualties are.
’’ The minister advised parents not to be discouraged by the incident but to continue encouraging their female children to embrace education.
 APC celebrates In its reaction, the All Progressives Congress, expressed delight at the girls’ return, describing it as another solid demonstration of the political will of Buhari’s administration to secure the lives of all Nigerians.
A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, said, “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.
” The party a assured Nigerians that the current administration remains committed to securing the release of the remaining Chibok schoolgirls 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.”

It’s stage-managed – PDP In its own reaction, the PDP condemned the ruling APC and security agencies for staging the abduction of the schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe state, for cheap political score PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, while briefing the press, described the act as targeted at 2019 re-election bid.
“While this failed Dapchi drama remains a poorly crafted tragicomedy, a scam of no equal dimension, Nigerians are not ready to forgive the APC and the Presidency for the torments inflicted on the girls, their parents and the human community worldwide just to score a cheap political point.
“Nigerians know that the main aim of this devilish act was to delude the public, set the stage for an orchestrated rescue, create a heroic myth and false sense of achievements around the APC administration and serve as a spur for President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration to contest the 2019 presidential election, perhaps in the coming weeks,” the party said.
As a political party, Ologbondiyan said, “we want to further state unequivocally that by all ramifications, this is a war crime against humanity and gross violation of human rights on the part of the APC administration, all in the bid to push a selfish and illlucked 2019 ambition.
” He insisted that, “there is no evidence that the Boko Haram insurgents or any militant group abducted the schoolgirls in the first place.
“Rather, what is evident to all is the high level official manipulation of security movements in Dapchi both in the staged abduction and the returning of the traumatised schoolgirls.
“It is instructive to note that till date, no report has been presented by the National Security Adviser (NSA), who has been charged by President Muhammadu Buhari with investigation of the abduction.
“This is in addition to deliberate efforts by the government to suppress free flow of information around the abduction.
” Ologbondiyan further reaffirmed that, “Nigerians are all aware that both the abduction and return of the schoolgirls were dramatically preceded by questionable withdrawal of troops and all security apparatus at checkpoints and flashpoints in the Dapchi area.
” On his part, PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, described the girls’ release as a good development, but challenged the governing APC to release the investigation report on how they were abducted.

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