By Dirisu Yakubu
ABUJA-The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Monday urged the National Assembly to as a matter of urgent national importance, open a full scale investigation into the circumstances leading to and surrounding the unfortunate abduction of 110 school girls in Dapchi, Yobe State last week.
Anger erupted in a town in remote northeast Nigeria on February 22 after officials fumbled to account for scores of schoolgirls from the college who locals say have been kidnapped by Boko Haram jihadists. Police said on February 21 that 111 girls from the college were unaccounted for following a jihadist raid late on February 19. Hours later, Abdullahi Bego, spokesman for Yobe state governor Ibrahim Gaidam, said “some of the girls” had been rescued by troops “from the terrorists who abducted them”. But on a visit to Dapchi on Thursday, Gaidam appeared to question whether there had been any abduction. / AFP PHOTO /
The party said such investigation has become necessary owing to rising speculations and “Conspiracy theorems in the public space, fuelled by conflicting reports, attempts at cover-up and disagreements among government officials and agencies regarding the ugly incident,” adding that the “National Assembly must take a critical note of the allegation by Yobe State governor, Ibrahim Geidam, who insists that the abduction was preceded by the withdrawal of troops safeguarding the troubled area.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan in a statement on Monday said the position of the governor is an indication that the abduction could have been avoided, noting that as representatives of the people, it behoves on the lawmakers to unravel what truly happened in the interest of the nation.
“The governor is the chief security officer of the state and his statement cannot be taken lightly or even dismissed by just a wave of the hand by anybody or any government agency under any guise whatsoever.
“The PDP also urges the National Assembly to investigate the various conflicting reports that have characterized the abduction, particularly the initial moves by the federal government to deny the occurrence of this incident.
“Nigerians are indeed worried about the apparent deliberate design to hide the facts of this abduction and demand to know the truth. It is a common saying in Africa that thunder does not strike on the same spot twice.
“We must not allow our national ambience to be filled with speculations from conspiracy theorists. Our lawmakers must therefore, in unravelling the matter, question all security agencies, particularly those operating in the area.
“We urge the National Assembly to urgently come to the rescue of some of the parents of our abducted daughters, who were arrested and taken into custody for daring to demand to know the whereabouts of their children and wards,” the statement read in part.
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