More than half of abducted Dapchi schoolgirls taken to Niger Republic - Sources

- The schoolgirls abducted from their school in Yobe state have been reportedly split into two groups

- Nearly half them are said to have been reportedly ferried across the border into Niger Republic

- The remaining are said to have been taken to an enclave in northern Borno state

A report by Daily Trust suggests that nearly half the girls abducted from their school in Yobe state have been ferried across the border into Niger Republic.

According to the report, the girls were split into two groups; one was left in an enclave in northern Borno state and the other taken to a village in Niger Republic.

Sources quoted in the report say the girls were abducted by the Musab Albarnawi faction of Boko Haram which is loyal to the Islamic State of West Africa.

READ ALSO: 94 girls missing after Boko Haram attack on Yobe school

The group had lost grounds along the shores of the Lake Chad, the same way Abubakar Shekau, the factional leader of the group suffered and was sacked from the Sambisa Forest base following onslaught by the Nigerian military.

“The girls were ferried across a shallow river and are held in the border town of Duro in Niger Republic. The second batch has been moved to Tumbun Gini area of Abadam LGA of Borno," the source said.

Abadam, with headquarters at Malam Fatori is three kilometres from Bosso Niger Republic.

Meanwhile, Yobe state governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, re-emphasized yesterday, Sunday, February 25, that the Boko Haram attack in Dapchi and Buni-Yadi were aided by military withdrawals from those locations.

The governor, who spoke during a sympathy visit paid to him by Borno state governor and chairman, Northern Governors Forum, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, said the military did not notify them when troops were withdrawn.

“I want to put the record straight, there was no military presence at the time of Dapchi attack because we don’t even know that the military have been withdrawn. The Dapchi and Buni-Yadi attacks are similar because both attacks came weeks after the military withdrawal. I want the press to quote me on this,” he said.

Governor Gaidam said it was not an accuse for the theatre commander to attribute the military withdrawal to shortage of personnel.

“When I met the theatre commander on why the military were withdrawn, he said they have shortage of manpower. To me, it is not an excuse because it’s duty bound for the FG to recruit and bridge the gap,” he added.

On his part, Governor Shettima said the attacks on the girls’ school in Dapchi had reminded him of the abduction of Chibok girls because they are similar.

Shettima noted that the only difference in the attacks is the APC-led federal government has responded swiftly in Dapchi without any denial.

“Neither denial, nor conspiracy theory as was done in the case of Chibok girls abduction under PDP-led Federal Government. We should learn to separate politics from human lives,” he said.

READ ALSO: Federal Government confirms 110 Dapchi schoolgirls missing

The girls were seized from Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi by suspected Boko Haram terrorists on Monday, February 19.

Efforts to rescue them by the Nigerian military has not been successful as at the time of this report.

Survivors of Boko Haram - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng