DAPCHI SCHOOLGIRLS WERE FREED UNCONDITIONAL

The federal government has said the Dapchi schoolgirls and two other persons abducted by the Boko Haram sect who were freed by the insurgents yesterday secured their freedom unconditionally.  104 out of the 110 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Science And Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State by Boko Haram insurgents regained their freedom alongside one other girl and a boy yesterday. Briefing journalists in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, dispelled rumors that the girls were released after certain conditions were met in a negotiation between government and the insurgents.  According to him, all the 106 persons were freed unconditionally contrary to reports in a section of the media that ransom was paid and that some insurgents were swapped for the freed persons. ‘’It is not true that we paid ransom for the release of the Dapchi girls, neither was there a prisoner swap to secure their release. What happened was that the abduction itself was a breach of the ceasefire talks between the insurgents and the government; hence it became a moral burden on the abductors. Any report that we paid ransom or engaged in prisoner swap is false,’’ he said. The freed persons who were formally handed over to the federal government were immediately airlifted to Abuja aboard a military transport plane.  The Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj Gen Rogers Nicholas, handed over the girls and one boy to a four-member federal government delegation at the Nigerian Air Force Base in Maiduguri yesterday evening. Members of the delegation include the Information minister; minister of Interior, Gen Abdulrahman Danbazau (rtd); the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hajia Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim and a member of the House of Representatives from Dapchi, Hon Goni Lawan Bukar. Earlier in a statement, the minister of Information said the number could still increase, as the documentation of the freed girls is ongoing. He said the release of the schoolgirls is the outcome of the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to all security agencies to do everything possible to secure their release.  Mohammed said the girls were released at about 3:00am through back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country, even as he streesed that it was unconditional. ‘’For the release to work, the government had a clear understanding that violence and confrontation would not be the way out as it could endanger the lives of the girls, hence a non-violent approach was the preferred option.  ‘’Within the period when the girls were being brought back, operational pause was observed in certain areas to ensure free passage and also that lives were not lost,’’ he said. Also earlier in an interview with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja yesterday after the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Mohammed had maintained that the girls were released unconditionally. “The girls were released unconditionally, no money changed hands. They only had one condition that they will return them to where they picked them. So, in the early hours of today, they did return the girls and most of them went to their parents’ homes”, he stated. On how the girls were released, the Information minister said, “The event is developing. Many of the girls that were released were not dropped in one place. Some were dropped on the road and they went back naturally to their parents’ houses. They are now being asked to come and be documented at a center and as at five minutes ago, I was told 91 girls and a boy had been documented.  “The report we got was that one condition the insurgents gave was that they will be the ones to drop the girls and they dropped them in the early hours of this morning. “Like I said in the statement released to you earlier, once violence and confrontation was ruled out and negotiation started, there was a deliberate pause on the part of the military. In order words, it was agreed that there will be no force; there will be no confrontation. That was why it was possible for them to drop the girls. It was part of the agreement that ‘we will release the girls and there will be no violence nor confrontation’. And don’t forget that the lives of this children are much more important to us than any cheap victory. On her part, Minister of State for foreign affairs, Khadijah Abba Ibrahim, who hails from Yobe State expressed happiness over the release of the girls “I’m very excited today. I’m exhilarated, I’m happy; you just describe anything today and that is what I feel because the Dapchi girls have been released. We are very very happy. We have achieved what we had gone out to achieve and we thank the almighty God for His mercies”, she said. On the news that some of the girls are dead, she said, “As far as I know now, they are taking a role call. So, we cannot ascertain how many have passed on or whatever. We will find out much later on what the casualties are”.  The minister of Defence, Mansur Dan – Ali, who predicted that the girls will be released a week ago, said, “Basically, I want to speak on the impression people had that we cannot get the girls released. If you can remember the last interview I had with Channels Television, I said in two weeks, two months or less, we are going to get the girls released and this has happened. “So, this is as result of the efforts of Mr. President and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces for the support he has been giving us and the output is showing now. On the negotiations that went in before the release, he said, “I did say even if you are going for negotiations if you are not doing so from the point of strength, you cannot make it”.   Their Release Sign Of Responsible Governance – APC   Meanwhile, the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday commended the federal government for the return of the Dapchi schoolgirls abducted, saying their release is an eloquent testimony of good governance in the country. Making reference to the over 119 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok community in Borno State in 2014, the APC knocked the past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration, According to it, if the government had been proactive, it would have prevented the incidence. In a statement by the national publicity secretary of the APC, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party however said the prompt release of the girls “is another solid demonstration of the political will of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration to secure the lives of all Nigerians.     “If the immediate-past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration had responded with the similar alacrity, the Chibok schoolgirls would have been released or rescued. Instead, the PDP wasted several weeks wallowing in denial and conspiracy theories such that it was now left for the APC government to rescue many of the girls and rehabilitate them”, it added. The APC assured Nigerians that the current administration is committed to securing the release of the remaining Chibok schoolgirls still held captive by Boko Haram. The party also expressed confidence in the ability of the Buhari administration to improve the capacity and efficiency of Nigeria’s security agencies to prevent such occurrences in the future.   It Was Staged-managed – PDP   But the PDP faulted the rescue of the Dapchi Schoolgirls, declaring that their abduction and rescue was staged-managed. The party accused the APC and officials in the presidency of staging the abduction of the schoolgirls for political purposes. The PDP further called on the United Nations (UN) and the International Criminal Court to immediately commence investigation on the Dapchi schoolgirls saga, saying it amounts to a war crime against humanity. It also demanded the arrest and prosecution of all those involved in this saga. The opposition party also demanded the setting up of a UN monitored Truth Commission to unravel the facts around the Dapchi event as well as the abduction of Schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State in 2014.   Speaking earlier with journalists, the national chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus said, “We thank God for the release of the abducted girls. The release will bring relief to their parents and the entire people of Nigeria. “The main issue is, how were they kidnaped? The government had set up an investigative committee. We challenged them to release the report on how they were kidnaped.  The mystery surrounding how they were abducted and also released is another issue.   “Whether it was pre- determined, nobody knows. Government should release the investigation report, because there are doubts here and there. Whether there were conspiracies to get them out and bring them after to earn some reputation nobody knows. “As we challenge the APC government to release the report, we also ask that never again should this type of thing happen in our country where for purpose of boosting profile of this failed government or whatever the purpose maybe, that security left Dapchi school and immediately they left the girls were kidnaped. “Well, the government said they negotiated for it, but we charge the APC failed government to also negotiate for the release of the remaining Chibock girls. All these things happening are strange, never happened before.  It seems to me that the centre can no longer hold. This APC government is broken.” The national publicity secretary of the party, Kola Olagbondiyan, said, “ The PDP condemns the All Progressives Congress (APC) and certain officials in the Presidency for staging the abduction of the schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State, for political purposes.   “Our Party considers this act as wicked, callous and tormenting to use innocent schoolgirls as pawns in an ignoble script that was designed to hoodwink Nigerians and orchestrate a great rescue and security prowess of a conquering general, all to push a 2019 reelection bid, is an unpardonable gamble with human lives. “While this failed Dapchi drama remains a poorly crafted tragicomedy: a scam of no equal dimension, Nigerians are not ready to forgive the APC and the Presidency for the torments inflicted on the girls, their parents and the human community worldwide just to score a cheap political point”.   Saraki Attributes Release Of Schoolgirls To Prayers of Nigerians   Meanwhile, Senate President Bukola Saraki has lauded the release of 101 of the 110 abducted Dapchi Schoolgirls, saying the prayers of millions of Nigerians had been answered. Saraki’s reaction was contained in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu. He commended President Buhari, the Nigerian security forces and the government of Yobe State for the ongoing effort that led to the release of the girls. He stated that the government should do all within its power to ensure the return of the remaining Dapchi and Chibok girls.   According to Saraki, the release of the abducted Dapchi schoolgirls is tremendous news for the country, which signifies that God has answered prayers of Nigerians. He said, “I commend President Buhari, our security forces and the Yobe State Government for their effort in bringing back our girls. However, we cannot stop here. We must not rest until all the Dapchi girls, and the remaining Chibok girls are back home with their families. “I hope that the girls that have been released will soon be reunited with their families and loved ones. It is also necessary that we ensure that they receive the necessary care and rehabilitation that they need to continue to lead normal lives.