Ebun Francis || One week after the attack by suspected Boko Haram insurgents at Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, the Federal Government on Sunday confirmed that 110 students of the school are so far unaccounted for.
Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the announcement after a meeting in Damaturu between a Federal Government Delegation and representatives of Yobe state government, the college, the parents, security agencies, and Bursari local government, where the school is located.
The minister confirmed that after briefings from the Principal of the College, Hajia Adama Abdulkarim, and the state Commissioner for Education, Mohammed Lami, 110 out of 906 students, have not been accounted
for. All the students were in the school on the day of the attack.
He also said that the Federal Government has stepped up efforts to rescue the girls and return them safely to their parents.
In addition, the Federal Government, he disclosed has directed the police and civil defence authorities in Yobe State to immediately deploy their personnel to all the schools in the state for the protection of students and workers.
The minister said, ”This is the second time in four days that a Federal Government delegation would visit Yobe State since the unfortunate incident. This is a measure of the seriousness with which we are addressing the issue. The security forces are leaving no stone unturned in their search for the girls.
”We are back here in Yobe as part of efforts to provide some succour to the parents of the girls, to let them know that they are not alone and also to reassure them that we will not rest until we have found the girls. We will carry the parents along on the efforts we are making,” he said.
Lt. General Abdulrahman Danbazau, the minister of Interior, on his part, said the delegation embarked on the trip in order to get the facts right ”so that the approach to the solution can be correct”.
He said, ”We must get back the girls and also ensure that this does not happen again.”