Some aggrieved residents of
Dapchi, headquarters of Busari local government area of Yobe state, attacked
Ibrahim Gaidam, governor of the state, on Thursday.
They not only booed
the number one citizen of the state but threw stones and dangerous objects at
his convoy, resulting in the destruction of some vehicles.
Gaidam had gone to the
community to inform the people that the students kidnapped from Government
Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, have not been rescued.
Boko Haram fighters stormed
the school on Monday, seizing an unknown number of students.
On Wednesday, the governor
said the army had rescued some of the students.
“Some of the students of
Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC) whose school was attacked by
Boko Haram terrorists last Monday have been rescued by gallant officers and men
of the Nigerian Army,” he said in a statement which Abdullahi Bego, his
spokesman, issued on his behalf.
“The rescued girls are now in
the custody of the Nigerian Army. We will provide more details about their
number and condition in due course.”
But on Thursday, he informed
the people of the reality on ground.
TheCable learnt that the
governor arrived the community before noon and immediately went into a meeting
with traditional leaders at the palace of the village head.
He was said to have taken the
leaders into confidence but they agreed that he should also address the crowd
which had gathered outside.
“When Gaidam began speaking,
we were calm. We followed all that he said with assurances that the situation
was under control,” Abdullahi Dapchi, a resident of the town who said two of
his sisters were among the captives, told TheCable.
“But we got suspicious when
he began dribbling us. You know how these politicians are. He said we should
cooperate with the government that they were doing their best. We asked him
about the situation and he said none of the students had been rescued.
“At that point, some parents
broke down in tears, some even collapsed and before you knew it, the atmosphere
was chaotic. The governor had to be ferried away by his security operatives but
the mob went after the vehicles in his convoy.
“The peace that we have been
enjoying in this community was disrupted.”
Dapchi said it took the
intervention of soldiers, who fired shots into the air, for the crowd to
disperse.
He said moments after the
troops left, some residents gathered again but this time around they started
protesting.
“They blocked major roads,
chanting anti-government songs and placing curses on Boko Haram,” he said.
“They demanded the immediate
release of the students and said they were not interested in how government
would achieve that.”
TheCable learnt that the
protest did not gather momentum because attention had shifted to the school
where Gaidam, under tight security, was awaiting the arrival of the delegation
of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Lai Mohammed, minister of
information, and Khadija Bukar Abba, minister of state for foreign affairs –
later arrived.
They met with the governor
and had a brief discussion with the media.
Appealing to family members
of the captive to exercise patience with government, Mohammed said the freedom
of the girls would remain a priority.
He said the actual number of
the missing schoolgirls would be known when parents come forward with complaint
of their wards.
“On the issue of the number
of missing girls, we cannot give what we are not sure of, until we hear from
their parents, we cannot say this is the number,” he said.
Courtesy: SaharaReporter
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