The Dapchi Abduction Saga: Buhari’s Achilles’ Heel?

Sat, Mar 3, 2018 | By publisher


Cover, Featured

The adoption of about 110 Dapchi school girls in Yobe State calls the nation to a new realisation that despite assurances by President Muhammadu Buhari, Boko Haram is still very much alive and deadly

By Olu Ojewale                  

IT has been a busy week for Nigerian security agencies. A good number of them, deployed in the North East, have the mandate to search for and rescue the 110 Dapchi school students who were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents on Monday, February 19, from Government Girls Science and Technical College, GGSTC, Dapchi, Yobe State. The students were abducted from their hostels by terrorists.

The search and rescue latest efforts have not been left with the rank and file of security agencies. only. Top military and security brass are also in the operation. On Wednesday, February 28, Ibrahim Idris, inspector-general of Police and Abdullahi Muhammadu, commandant general of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, received their matching order to relocate to the North East. The order was given by Abdulrahman Dambazau, minister of Interior, who himself had paid a visit to the troubled areas with Lai Mohammed, minister of Information and Culture.

Besides, Dambazau, a retired lieutenant-general, directed the commissioner of Police and the commandant of the NSCDC in Yobe State, to ensure security presence in all schools in the liberated communities.

BuhariAlso in the search party are Babagana Monguno, a retired major-general and national security adviser, accompanied by Sadique Abubakar, chief of Air Staff, and Nicholas Rogers, a major-general and theatre commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, and other senior military officers, on Tuesday, February 27.

The NSA-led search team for the missing schoolgirls moved to areas around the Nigeria-Niger border before returning to Damaturu, the Yobe State capital for a courtesy visit to Governor Ibrahim Gaidam.

That notwithstanding, the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, said it had deployed additional air assets, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, ISR, platforms to the North East in its renewed effort at locating the missing Dapchi school girls.

According to a statement from the NAF chief, the force had carried about 100 sorties in the search for the 110 schoolgirls abducted on February 19.

In order to lead the NAF operations, chief of Air Staff, relocated to Maiduguri, Borno State, on Monday, February 26, “to personally superintend the search for the girls,” the minister said.

Apparently irked by the turn of events in Yobe State, Munguno, who visited Governor Gaidam in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, in company of some military chiefs including Abubakar, assured Nigerians: “We have also been made aware of the fact that the Nigerian Air Force will step up its operation regardless of the very hard and severe weather condition.”

Giving further details of the security measures in place as well as efforts to get the girls back, Munguno said: “Back in Abuja, we have set up our own machinery in dealing with this situation. All the security agencies have been working together. The situation room has been expanded – the one in the office of the National Security Adviser that is linked directly to all other security agencies but most importantly to the theatre command over here.

“I have made efforts with my counterparts across the region to try and work and share intelligence together and see how quickly we can bring to an end this very unfortunate situation. But, apart from that, we are also looking at other measures in dealing with past occurrences and how to forestall any future occurrence.”

In response, Gaidam said it was “unfortunate that prior to the attack, the Army units stationed in Dapchi and Bayamari towns were removed.  We are, therefore, of the opinion that there is no reason whatsoever to take that untimely action since Dapchi is the headquarters of one of the frontline local governments and Bayamari too is one of the major settlements close to the neighbouring Republic of Niger associated with porous terrain that should be protected.”

The Army has since disputed the claim, saying it withdrew soldiers from the town over a month before the attack. The soldiers were moved to another more urgent battlefront against the Boko Haram, the Army said.

Nevertheless, Monguno, on Wednesday, February 28, inaugurated a 12-man committee to unravel the circumstances leading to the kidnap of the school girls, the actual number of abducted girls and also their identities. He described the abduction as worrisome and an embarrassment to the country at large.

The NSA said: “The abduction of the school girls by the terrorists is a worrisome incident that requires deliberate, urgent and relentless efforts on the part of government.

“There has been conflicting reports from various quarters on the event that led to the abduction, the number of persons abducted, as well as their identities. This does not portray the country in good light. There have also been reports, especially in the social media which tend to support some level of inactivity by relevant organisations.”

Monguno
Monguno

The committee comprises one senior provost each from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force; representatives of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA; Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA; the Police; Department of State Services, DSS; Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC; two representatives of the Yobe State Government and a representative of the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA.

The committee was given until March 15, to submit its report.

In any case, the federal government in a statement said that details of the missing girls showed that eight are in JSS1; 17 in JSS2; 12 in JSS3; 40 in SS1; 19 in SS2 and 14 in SS3. The girls’ ages range from 11 to 19 years.

“The list, which also contains the contact address and phone number of each missing girl, was verified by a 26-member Screening Committee that include the executive secretary, State Teaching Service Board, Musa Abdulsalam; Director, Schools’ Management, Ministry of Education, Shuaibu Bulama; Principal of GGSTC, Adama Abdulkarim; the two Vice Principals, Ali Musa Mabu and Abdullahi Sule Lampo; Admission Officer Bashir Ali Yerima, and the Form Masters for all the classes,” Mohammed said.

The federal government also on Tuesday, February 27, provided the names and details of the 110 girls missing after Boko Haram attacked the town.

That notwithstanding, the wider implication of the abduction may be a sort of catastrophe for the President Mohammadu Buhari government. In the recent past, the president had repeatedly assured Nigerians and international community that the Nigerian military had decimated Boko Haram insurgents.

Hence, just as Monguno has noted, the abduction has no doubt put the country in precarious position among the international community.

In his reaction on Tuesday, February 27, Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, UN, said in a statement by Stephane Dujarric, his spokesperson, that he “strongly condemns the abduction and attack.” Guterres said he was gravely concerned over the plight of the abducted schoolgirls and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all the missing girls and for their safe return to their families.

The UN chief had earlier described the abduction as “another horrific incident where young women and girls are targeted by terror groups.

“We very much hope that the perpetrators will be brought to justice, and just as importantly, that the girls will be found and returned to safety. I think the fact that these young women were abducted in an educational setting, where they should have been safe, just adds to the horror of the story,’’ Guterres said.

Indeed, the abduction of the innocent schoolgirls in Dapchi in the same manner as Chibok schoolgirls were abducted in Borno State on April 14, 2014, in itself seems to have exposed the fact that the president’s assurance had no serious backing. Further, the development appears to suggest that Boko Haram insurgence is not a riddle that can be solved by the present government or and that because some persons are actually using it to siphon public funds to their pockets, hence, ending the Boko Haram saga would permanently put a stop to the avenue of free money.

Gaidam
Gaidam

One of those in this school of thought is Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State. Fayose alleged that the war against Boko Haram has become a business venture and source of indirect treasury looting to some people within and outside the presidency. Fayose said: “Those benefiting from Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, scams, and payment of ransom (in dollars) to free those abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents, among others, will never wish to see the end of the insurgency.”

Thus, the governor queried the inability of the military to prevent the abduction of the 110 Dapchi school girls by the insurgents, saying that the alleged withdrawal of military check-points from Dapchi and other communities, few days before the attack was a major pointer to possible conspiracy in the whole saga.

In a statement, on Thursday, February 28, yesterday, by Lere Olayinka, his special assistant on Public Communications and New Media, insisted that withdrawal of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account by the federal government was a continuation of the use of fight against the insurgents to fleece the country.

Fayose said that Nigerians were now getting to a state of helplessness on the insurgency, which appeared to be intractable. “Painfully, it appears we will have to live with Boko Haram for a very long time because waiting for this President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to save Nigerians is a waste of time. They boasted that Boko Haram will be defeated within three months; it is now more than 30 months. All that they have told Nigerians is grammar. Boko Haram technically defeated, Boko Haram completely defeated and now Boko Haram completely degraded,” he charged.

On its part, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to stop shedding crocodile tears and instead, provide answers to urgent questions surrounding the abduction of the school girls.

The party, in a statement by Kola Ologbondiyan, its national publicity secretary, on Sunday, February 25, said the Buhari Presidency had a lot of questions to answer regarding the alleged complicity of security agencies around the area coupled with misleading reports that frustrated immediate rescue of the abducted girls.

“We challenge the Presidency to come out clean on issues surrounding this abduction. Who authorised the said withdrawal of troops from the area and for what purpose? What alternative security measures were put in place to protect the people after the troops were withdrawn? Who controls security intelligence gathering and consequential protection action and what action was taken to guarantee adequate security in the area? …

“We invite the world to note that after exposing the community to harm and frustrating prompt rescue, the incompetent APC-controlled federal government has not taken any concrete step to give the abductors the desired chase to recover our girls.

“Rather, they sent a delegation of persons with no knowledge of security to Dapchi on fact-funding missions,” the statement said.

Ben Okezie, a security expert, said in an interview that the abduction of the school girls, had shown that Nigeria security agencies were not coordinated. He queried why the District Police Officer of Dapchi could be so ignorant of movement of Boko Haram contingent that attacked and abducted the school girls.

Abubakar

Okezie said the abduction had also rubbished the security operations in the North East despite the huge amount of money being spent there.

Besides, he said that the attack and abduction of the school girls is not a good public relation image for the Buhari administration. “Nigerians don’t deserve to live in fear of attack abduction. It is rather disappointing that we are experiencing this type of situation,” he said.

The Coalition for Nigeria Movement, CNM, sees the situation differently. It described the abduction as a dastardly act “not only an attack on the country but also an attack on our collective future and the development of our educational institutions especially as it relates to girl-child education.” In a statement by Omoruyi O. Edoigiawerie, its national steering committee, the CNM stated that “As a nation, we deserve to live in a country where every Nigerian, no matter who they are, where they live, their tribe or religion has the ability to live a secure, safe and healthy life.”

Edoigiawerie said further: “While we empathise with the parents of our dear daughters and we pray that they are rescued and reunited with their families, we call on the Federal Government to intensify its fight against terrorism and all forms of criminality. This cannot become a norm.”

Indeed, tolerating the situation would be a political suicide for the Buhari administration, which is already battling in many fronts for re-election 2019.

The Punch newspaper editorial of Wednesday, February 28, said the attack had exposed the Buhari administration’s cheap propaganda that it had “technically defeated” the Islamist sect, shown that the terror group is still a force to be reckoned with. “For the government to really decimate the murderous group, the time has come for stronger, decisive political leadership, a tougher and more effective anti-terror strategy and greater collaboration between Nigeria and other countries, particularly on intelligence gathering and sharing,” it said.

Besides, the newspaper argued that: “As usual, the latest abduction has clearly shown that many things are still awfully wrong with the Buhari government’s war on terror…

“The incident has once more made Nigeria a laughing stock: an unstable country where insecurity and impunity are the order of the day.”

The paper reminded the president that not all the 276 Chibok school girls had been rescued since he assumed office despite his promise.

Hence, it appealed to Buhari to critically review “the performance of his security chiefs and the officers whose lapses, misjudgements and incompetence led to this debacle. US authorities fired two admirals and several captains after four ship collisions in the Pacific Ocean last year.”

Besides, the paper argued: “Defeating Islamist terrorism is not restricted to the battlefield as the world’s most powerful militaries have found out. The game-changer is intelligence and it is a long-drawn operation as Islamist terrorism is ever mutating. The use of technology is essential: drones, electronic surveillance applications and human intelligence, using locals and undercover agents will help neutralise these depraved Islamist terrorists from our midst.”

Advancing similar arguments, Vanguard editorial on Thursday, March 1, which described the development as scandalous, said it appeared that those managing the nation’s security are not up to the task. “But, in a sobering situation such as this, Nigerians expect professional security agencies to eschew propaganda and blame games and present the truth to the citizenry.”

That notwithstanding, the paper said: “We are holding the President to his promise of ensuring that the girls, as well as the rest of the Chibok girls, are rescued alive. Buhari had undertaken before Nigerians in his inaugural speech on 29th May 2015 that he would not consider Boko Haram defeated until all the abducted girls have been rescued or accounted for. We still stand by that undertaking.

“We must also find out if some evil and unpatriotic elements within the system have been profiting from the anti-terror war, with the way Boko Haram makes a wild resurgence each time the authorities announce its “defeat”. All hands must be on deck to rescue these girls, some of whom are reported to be as young as eleven years old. The current preoccupations with the 2019 elections should be downplayed to enable us recover all missing Chibok and Dapchi girls.

Lai-Mohammed
Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture

“Politicians must be reminded that the Chibok girls tragedy was the primary reason for regime change in 2015.”

Indeed, Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the House of Representatives, seems to be mindful of the political implication of the abduction. He said both the Army and Police should be held responsible for the development. “The traumatic experience of the Chibok abduction which is still fresh in our minds should have serve as a warning signal to security agencies to provide adequate security protection to all schools in the North East,” he said.

The president was also expected to have learnt from the experience and deal ruthlessly with the insurgents. In fact, the national security adviser has assured that “the government will continue to push harder, dealing with all organisations – local and international – and engaging with every group that comes forward to see that these girls are brought back safely to their parents. This is a commitment that the government has made.”

That is a commitment that Nigerians would like fulfilled without much ado. It is already obvious that unless the Dapchi school girls are rescued, the matter is going to be a very important issue in 2019 elections. As in 2015, when the abduction played a major role in campaign issues, opposition are most likely going to use the abduction of Dapchi school girls as a campaign issue against the president.

Indeed, just as Buhari profited from the abduction of Chibok school girls in his presidential contest against former President Gooluck Jonathan, his opponents are also expected to exploit the development to gain advantage over him.

How the president is going to wriggle out of this quagmire is anybody’s guess.

– Mar. 3, 2018 @ 4:05 GMT |

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