The National Security Adviser (NSA), Retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 inaugurated a 12-member committee to unravel circumstances that led to the abduction of 110 school girls in Dapchi, Yobe State.
Monguno, who described the abduction as worrisome, said “it does not portray the country in good light.
“There have also been reports, especially in the social media which tends to support some level of inactivity by relevant organisations.
“Therefore, there is a need to verify the circumstances surrounding the abduction of these girls from the Government Technical Girls Secondary School.
“I must emphasise here also that there is a lot of cynicism outside in the wider society.
“This is not the first time such incident has taken place. On the 14th of April, 2014, a lot of girls were abducted from a secondary school in Chibok.
“A committee was set by the previous administration to look into the circumstances that led to the abduction of those girls,’’ he said.
Monguno, however, vowed that this probe was not going to “another exercise in futility’’.
He said that the incident “requires deliberate, urgent and relentless efforts on the part of government.’’
The NSA said that President Buhari was “extremely concerned about this incident’’ which he said was “beginning to cast a dark shadow on not just the administration but the country.
“The truth of the matter is that security is all embracing. It is not just for agencies of government.’’
He urged the committee to interface with the wider society and security agencies, especially in the context of the 21st century issues of insecurity.
“This time around, your work is going to permeate into the population not just in Yobe state, probably in Borno, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe states and so on and so forth.
“But the basic motivation in this very exercise is to get result.
“I want results. This is not just going to be something theoretical, paper or suggestions that will end up on someone’s desk without anything happening.
“We must let the people of Nigeria know that we have taken this incident with all the seriousness it requires and we are going to solve this problem.
“I wouldn’t want a situation whereby you are going to be suppressed by any individual, any group or organisation or agency because we are not going to allow anybody to cover up anything in this matter.”
He also cautioned the committee against pushing things under the carpet or being sympathetic to groups or organisations.
“You must unravel everything. Where people are culpable, it should come out in your report.
“These are people’s children, our children and we must be seen to be doing the right thing,’’ he said.
“Your report also will be followed by a white paper,’’ he added.
The committee is to determine the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the students from the school on Feb. 18.
It is also to determine the exact number of persons abducted alongside their identity, confirm the presence, composition, scale and disposition of security emplaced in Dapchi, as well as the school itself before the incident.
The committee will also ascertain the existing communication in the town and its functionality and suggest measures that can lead to the location and immediate rescue of the abducted girls.
It is also to recommend measures to be taken in preventing future occurrences, as well as any other detail it may deem necessary.
Terrorists stormed the Government Girls Technical Secondary School at Dapchi in Yobe on Feb. 18 and abducted the students of which 110 are still unaccounted for.
The committee, which is chaired by Rear Admiral Victor Adedipe, has two weeks to submit its report.
By Johnson Eyiangho
