Apparently angered by the abduction of 110 girls of the Government Girls’ Science Technical Secondary School, Dapchi, some kilometres away from Damaturu, the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have both condemn the lackadaisical attitude of the Federal government in the abduction of the girls.
Heads Must Roll-JNI
JNI said that the Federal government should have by now “suspended all negligent security and political chiefs.”
They said: “There must be blame for this, and no one found culpable in this gross negligence should be spared.
“In fact, a serious government would have by now put in jail and suspended all negligent security and political chiefs who could and should have protected these innocent children, rather than the rigmarole setting up of an investigative panel. Which most often than not, such panels/committees’ report end up on shelves, covered in dust.”
A statement signed by the JNI’s Secretary General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, said the Sultan of Sokoto received with absolute shock and amazement the most unfortunate story of the abduction of the school girls.
According to them, “this heartless and calamitous but avoidable abduction of school girls is utterly condemnable in its entirety, especially as it happened when some of the students were observing their Maghrib prayers, others were breaking their voluntary fast and many others were at the dining hall for supper.”
Since the unfortunate occurrence of the abduction, JNI said it has been following with keen interest events as they unfold in Dapchi.
“And suffice to state that a reasonable person’s analysis is to conclude that there is apparent lack of synergy between security operatives in Yobe State, or there is active connivance with the insurgents, especially if reports of media altercations between the Army and the Police are anything to go by.
“With nostalgia discerning minds could recall that the Chibok abduction is almost four years now. Yet we are unfortunately visited with yet another tragic school girls’ abduction. Is the Chibok girls debacle so long ago in our memory that we have not learnt anything from it?
“Furthermore, is this abduction not a near confirmation of the rumour making the rounds that security operatives do not want the war on Boko Haram to end because of the pecuniary benefits they derive therefrom?
“Again, why did the Dapchi girls’ abduction happen months before the 2019 general election, just like the Chibok girls’ abduction of 2014? Are there orchestrated plans somewhere to make a case for more security votes?
“If there is worse outcome than the abduction itself, it is the fact that this is the most potent action to frustrate girl-child education in Northern Nigeria, despite the many enrolment campaign efforts for female education.
“No parent now is comfortable especially in the North East to allow his daughter to go to such callously unprotected schools. And the North is the loser! Therefore, this is a wakeup call to the quiescent northern governors,” they said.
According to the body, “All of us as parents are still in shock. We must ask: how did the perpetrators gain access to the school? How come they were not prevented or intercepted? Does it mean that when they were coming no security or informants provided any hint?
“Aren’t the security operatives conversant with Sun Tzu’s Five Types of Spies in his The Art of War: local, inside, double, doomed and surviving? And that no one must discover your methods. Indeed there is much more than meets the eye in the way this Boko Haram insurgency is now being handled! This is so because before now, the major concern of the citizens of the BAY States (Borno, Adamawa and Yobe) has been that any time people provided information on suspected insurgents, the informants are hunted down and many killed within the next 24 hours,” they added.
“In light of the above, we call on Government at all levels to do everything possible and as a matter of urgency use any means possible to return our Dapchi and Chibok daughters. Enough should be enough!”
They further added that, government must spare no effort to immediately return all “our abducted daughters of Chibok, Dapchi and other places. And then an example must be set – heads must roll for this negligence. Inquiry is NOT the only way to go.”
“Government at all levels in collaboration with different security agencies must rise against the tide of insecurity in whatever guise, through proactive measures and nipping it in the bud, before it becomes blown off,” they stressed.
It Is A National Disgrace – CAN
On their part, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) expressed dismay on the security lapses in Nigeria, which it said led to the abduction of 110 Dapchi schoolgirls, stating that the incident in Dapchi has exposed the dark sides of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
CAN condemned the abduction of the schoolgirls by Boko Haram terrorists, describing it a national disgrace with the international attention it has rapidly generated.
In a statement issued on the abduction of Dapchi school girls signed by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the Special Assistant to the CAN President, his eminence, Rev Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle on Friday, CAN said it was consternated and disappointed that despite repeated claims of victory by the Federal Government over Boko Haram, the insurgents have continued to muster strength with effrontery to dare the same government in different ways including the latest Dapchi
incident.
It said the Dapchi incident has put Nigerian in deeper mourning about the unsecured future of Nigerian school children, most especially the females, given the failure of the government to ensure the rescue of all the Chibok girls who had earlier been kidnaped.
CAN added that the abduction of Dapchi school girls by Boko Haram, almost unchallenged has offered the Federal Government a window of opportunity to look inward and to probing the incident to unravel the myth and invincibility around the Boko Haram terrorists.
It also called on the Federal government to interrogate the entire security apparatus in Nigeria with intent to detect moles and possible collaborators among the officers who, it stressed must face severe sanctions if found wanting.
CAN said, “We found it incongruous and reprehensible that there is no unanimity of purpose among security agencies in Nigeria, given the discordant tunes by the agencies. This has not been auguring well for the battle to contain terrorism in the country.
“We urge President Buhari to rise to the occasion as a leader and ensure harmony and enhanced professionalism among security agencies as a way of positioning them for the task of wrestling insurgency to stand still in Nigeria”
CAN also called on the government to immediately deploy security operatives to other girls schools in the north eastern part of Nigeria in view of the Dapchi incident, wondering why the government, in the first instance, failed to take a cue from the abduction of Chibok Girls, almost three years ago by protecting the remaining girls schools.
The umbrella Christian body in Nigeria blamed the Boko Haram abduction of Dapchi girls on what it described as faulty strategy of war by the Nigerian Military in which case, the authorities in the name of propaganda often rush to claim dominion and victory over the insurgents without actually breaking the core of their strength.
It said, “Our Military should learn from their past and present mistakes by doing less of propaganda while facing the war against Boko Haram terrorists with zeal to root them out once and for all.
“In our view, the Government of President Buhari should urgently call for international support in the combat against terrorism as its incapacity in the battle against insurgency in Nigeria is becoming
more glaring.
“Nigeria is increasingly reeling into a war situation with life expectancy getting shorter by the day amid massive killings by Boko Haram in the North East, Fulani herdsmen in the Middle Belt, armed
gangs in the southern region, a reason we opined that calling for international support may not be out of place.
“We as a body will be willing any day to cooperate with the government, lending hands in whatever capacity we deemed fit to ensure an end to the reign of terror, barbarism and utter chaos in our
country. We are strongly of a view that all hands must be on deck in Nigeria to prevent the country from slipping into full scale internecine war.
“We call on the National Assembly and all the states’ Houses of Assembly to support the unbundling of the Nigerian Police while yielding the ground for creation of the State Police in line with global practice. From all indications, a unified police system has become outdated and hence, ineffective in tackling the nature of security challenges confronting Nigeria.
Our hearts go to the parents of the abducted innocent schoolgirls as we pray for their safe return and re-union with their families. We call on all security agencies to intensify efforts in securing the
release of the abducted girls in national interest.
For us, “ ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! as we demand an immediate end to kidnapping of innocent girls and mindless killings bring recorded across the country.
His eminence solicits your help in disseminating this statement to the public through your popular medium as we appreciate your usual assistance and understanding.
