The Nigerian Defence Headquarters, says it cannot confirm the reported rescue of some schoolgirls reportedly abducted by Boko Haram terrorists after an attack on their school in Dapchi, Yobe State.
“We cannot confirm” the statement by Yobe State that some of the girls have been rescued, John Agim, the defence spokesperson, said on Thursday, February 22, 2018.
Suspected Boko Haram operatives on Monday evening stormed the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Bursari Local Government Area, Yobe State, a state government-owned school.
The insurgents reportedly carted away foodstuff and other valuables before kidnapping some of the girls at the school, according to witnesses.
Agim, a brigadier-general, said he could not give further details about the military’s intervention in the matter.
The comment, the first from the Nigerian military since the attack, comes as Nigerians and the international community press for more details of the incident.
Already, there are conflicting figures from the Yobe state government and the police about the number of girls that have not been found.
While the police said afternoon that only 30 out of the total 906 students at the school could not be located, Yobe government said 50 girls were still missing as at the same time.
Yobe State said in another statement Wednesday night that some girls were rescued and were with the Nigerian Army. The statement did not give any figure.
“The Yobe State Government hereby informs the public that some of the girls at 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 from the terrorists who abducted them,” Abdullahi Bego, a Yobe government spokesperson, said in the statement.
“The rescued girls are now in the custody of the Nigerian Army,” he added.
But nearly 24 hours later, neither the military, which the state government said was in charge of the girls, nor the police could confirm that the girls were actually rescued from Boko Haram.
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