By Rotimi Ijikanmi
Abuja – The Federal Government has confirmed that 110 students of the Government Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe, are so far unaccounted for, after suspected insurgents from a faction of Boko Haram invaded their school last Monday
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the figure after a meeting between a Federal Government Delegation and representatives of key stakeholders, in Damaturuon Sunday.
A statement issued on the meeting listed the key stakeholders to include state government, the college, the parents, security agencies and Bursari Local Government officials, where Dapchi is situated.
The statement was signed by the Special Adviser to the Minister, Mr Segun Adeyemi.
The minister said that based on the briefings from the Principal of the College, Hajiya Adama Abdulkarim, and the state Commissioner for Education, Mohammed Lami, 906 students were in the school on the day of the attack.
He said from the 906 students in the school,110 have not been accounted for.
Mohammed also announced that the Federal Government had directed the police and civil defence authorities in the State to immediately deploy their personnel to all the schools in the state
He said the measure was to ensure the security and safety of the students and their staffers.
The minister disclosed that the Federal Government had stepped up efforts to rescue the girls and return them safely to their parents.
He said the security agencies were working on many leads regarding the whereabouts of the girls.
”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 and 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.
For his part, the Minister of Interior, Abdurahman Dambazzau said the delegation embarked on the trip in order to get the facts right ”so that the approach to the solution can be correct”.
”We must get back the girls and also ensure that this does not happen
again,” he said.
The delegation held an enlarged meeting attended by Gov. Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe; the state cabinet, the Principal and Vice Principal of the school, representatives of the parents of the missing girls and security agencies, among others.(NAN)