Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president of Nigeria, has addressed reports by an online publication about an attempted suicide by one of the freed Chibok girls to prevent her from being enrolled in his school, ABTI Academy.
A media aide to the All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain, Paul Ibe, described the story as “contrived hogwash” and expressed shock that “some would-be journalists think it is fair game to exploit a young girl’s trauma to score cheap political points.”
It was reported that one of the released Chibok girls by the name Lugwa Sanda drank Jik, a liquid stain remover, because she is opposed to attending ABTI academy due to recent Boko Haram attacks in parts of Adamawa state. The report stated that Ms. Sanda attempted the suicide at the Women Development Centre where she and fellow schoolmates had been kept under the custody of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs. The report added that the attempted suicide took place at night.
Atiku highlighted that the headline of the article which read “Freed Chibok schoolgirl attempts suicide to protest going to Atiku-owned school,” sounded more like a deliberate attempt to direct the blame to the school rather than the region.
Atiku also accused the publication of making frequent references to the current Minister of Women Affairs , Aisha Alhassan.
The minister who has been controversially vocal about her support for Atiku Abubakar in the forthcoming 2019 Presidential election has come under heavy criticisms from some senior members of the APC for supporting Atiku while still serving as a minister under this current regime.
The ministry of women affairs is responsible for coordinating the rehabilitation of the girls. Over and over in the report, there were insinuations that Aisha Alhassan chose to send the girls to ABTI due to her close ties with Atiku.
Atiku concluded by stating that he believes that the report is all about the politics of the next elections. He urged the media “to remember that not everything is about 2019.
