Federal Government confirms 110 Dapchi schoolgirls missing

- Almost seven days after the incident, a federal government delegation to Dapchi says it has confirmed that over 100 girls are unaccounted for

- Following the confirmation, the federal government says everything is now being done to rescue the missing girls

- The federal government delegation that made the confirmation comprised the Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed and Minister of Interior Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retired)

The Nigerian government has finally confirmed that not fewer than 110 schoolgirls are missing from a government girls college in Dapchi, Yobe state after a Boko Haram attack on the high school on Monday, February 19.

The government confirmed this in a statement signed by Segun Adeyemi, the special assistant to information minister Lai Mohammed.

The statement which was sent to Legit.ng, read in part:

The Federal Government has confirmed that 110 students of the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, are so far unaccounted for, after insurgents believed to be from a faction of Boko Haram invaded their school on Monday (19 Feb. 2018).

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, including the state government, the college, the parents, security agencies and Bursari local government, where Dapchi is situated, in Damaturu on Sunday.

READ ALSO: Yobe governor blames Nigerian military for Dapchi schoolgirls’ abduction

He said, based on the briefings from the Principal of the College, Hajia Adama Abdulkarim, and the state Commissioner for Education, Hon. Mohammed Lamin, 906 students - out of whom 110 have not been accounted for - were in the school on the day of the attack.

Alhaji Mohammed also announced that the Federal Government has directed the police and civil defence authorities in Yobe State to immediately deploy their personnel to all the schools in the state in order to ensure the security and safety of the students and their staffers.

The Minister disclosed that the Federal Government has stepped up efforts to rescue the girls and return them safely to their parents, saying the security agencies are 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. 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 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."

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The federal government delegation also held an enlarged meeting that was attended by Governor Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe state; members of the state cabinet, the Principal and Vice Principal of the school, representatives of the parents of the missing girls and security agencies, among others, the statement said.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that Lai Mohammed and Dambazau arrived Damaturu, the Yobe state capital, for a visit on Sunday.

It was the second time a federal government delegation is visiting the state following the abduction of 105 girls from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi.

The government delegation arrived at the state on Sunday, February 25 and went to the government house.

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Source: Legit.ng