Dapchi Schoolgirls: Gaidam Blames Abduction On Withdrawal Of Military

Boko Haram members had taken the girls from the Government Girls Science Technical School in the town of Dapchi, Yobe state, on Monday, after firing guns and setting off explosives.

On Thursday, Yobe state officials issued a press release apologizing for that report and confirming that an unknown number of girls remain missing, defying the federal government, which has insisted it is too soon to know the fate of the girls in question.

'This is a national disaster.

"We have now established that the information we relied on to make the statement was not credible", said Yobi state spokesman Abdullahi Bego. "I would like to assure them that we are doing all in our power to ensure the safe return of all the girls". These efforts however began to appear for what they actually were; incompetencies, lies, and conspiracies. "We had policemen but they ran to the bush."Mohammed Adam, whose two younger sisters are missing, said before Monday's attack "there was nearly no security inside Dapchi because there have been no other incidents".

Also inexplicable has been the confusing information served to the public by different officials, leading to the very embarrassing claim that the abducted girls had been rescued, which turned out to be false.

Authorities said on Wednesday the Dapchi girls had been rescued, but later backtracked and said they were still missing.

"Fact is that President Buhari is presiding over the worse form of corruption in the history of Nigeria and the good thing is that despite their propaganda, they have not been able hide the rot in their government from the eagle eyes of worldwide organisations like the Transparency global".

While arguing that it is the responsibility of government to ensure maximum protection of lives and properties, Liman said the challenge now is not only to rescue the abducted schoolgirls but also to trace and punish the culprits.

Suspect in killing of Filipina maid interrogated in Lebanon
Relatives said she never said anything bad about her employers, but they suspected she was being watched closely. Nader Essam Assaf and his wife accused of killing Joanna Demafelis, who had gone missing in September 2016 .

Mane flying as Liverpool prepare for Hammers
The 25-year-old's contract runs until 2021 but British media reported that he could be rewarded with a new deal. West Ham are now in 12th place in the Premier League table, and sit just three points above the drop zone.

Armed guard waited outside school while gunmen shot students
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel announced that sheriff's deputies will now be carrying AR-15 rifles while on school grounds. Israel said that there was an armed police officer in the school at the time of last week's shooting.

A senior military source in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, told AFP the girls from Dapchi were "found... on the border between Yobe and Borno".

One of the biggest mass trials in Nigeria's history has been taking place against Boko Haram suspects with hundreds convicted and scores more ordered to attend rehabilitation programmes.

"We have no certainty that these boys (Boko Haram) took these girls".

"We were happy yesterday when the government said they have found our daughters".

"No soldiers were in the town for over one month", he added.

The girls' hostel at the school.

Boko Haram's quest to establish a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria has left at least 20,000 dead and made more than 2.6 million others homeless since 2009.

Cruel, ruthless, unscrupulous and amoral that Boko Haram is, government and the security agencies would or should have known that it was only a matter of time before the terrorists try to restock their store of abducted schoolgirls as bargaining chip to extract more money and other concessions from government.