The police and local officials said there was no evidence that the girls had been abducted but the Yobe government agreed with parents that some of the students are in Boko Haram’s captivity.
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Now parents say 101 schoolgirls are missing after the Boko Haram assault Monday evening, presenting Nigeria’s government with its most wrenching challenge since the Chibok mass abduction of 276 schoolgirls in 2014 that shocked the world.
The state government had incorrectly said some of the girls had been rescued from the “terrorists who abducted them”, and were now with the Nigerian army. Many of those girls are still being held, though others have escaped or been freed for ransom. “We had policemen but they ran to the bush”.
President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015 on a promise to defeat the Islamic State group affiliate and has repeatedly maintained they are now a spent force.
He said, “We further appeal to anyone with information that will assist in locating the girls not to delay in sharing same with the military and security services”.
On Wednesday, the government said 76 of the kidnapped girls had been rescued by the military, sparking celebration in the streets.
‘The Dapchi incident is a major setback for hopes and expectations for a conclusive release of the remaining Chibok girls and all others still held by Boko Haram, said Nnamdi Obasi, International Crisis Group senior analyst for Nigeria.
On Wednesday Yobe State governor, Ibrahim Gaidam said only about 50 girls were yet to be accounted for, while the police said only 30 girls were not accounted for. The uniformed Boko Haram fighters opened fire as they entered the village and proceeded directly to the school.
The President in statement also apologized for the attack and assured that the school girls will be safely returned back their parents.
Parents originally said that around 100 children were thought to be missing following the attack in Yobe state.
Government retracts earlier statement that some of the girls had been rescued after Boko Haram attacked their school.
Manzo said when the gunmen demanded that they be shown the way to the school, some residents tried to play a fast one on them and sent them in a wrong direction. According to him, “But we must understand that these are they dying days of the Boko Haram and what they intend to do is to embarrass the government because they have been degraded, they have been pushed out of Sambisa forest”.
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“The attackers killed five people and wounded five more”. (The roll call seems to have occurred before the army’s rescue operation.) Several witnesses indicated to media representatives that Nigerian security personnel told them not to talk about the episode.
