The ruling All Progressives Congress APC has given itself a passmark on the government’s handling of the Dapchi girls abduction, lashing at the immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan for idling away for several weeks when it was confronted with a similar scenario, the 2014 abduction of scores of school girls in Chibok.
“The APC is extremely delighted with the news of the return of the schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State by Boko Haram”, its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said in a statement.
According to the APC; “The prompt release of the Dapchi schoolgirls is another solid demonstration of the political will of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration to secure the lives of all Nigerians.
“With this prompt release of the Dapchi girls, the APC government has demonstrated how government should respond to such situations. 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.
“We assure Nigerians that the current administration remains committed to securing the release of the remaining Chibok schoolgirl still held in captivity by Boko Haram and ultimately rehabilitate and reunite them with their families and loved ones.
“The Party is confident that reforms that the government has embarked on would improve the capacity and efficiency of our security agencies to prevent the kidnap of children by terrorists and diminish their ability to carry out attacks on soft targets”, APC added.
However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the All Progressives Congress (APC) and certain officials in the Presidency for staging the abduction of the school girls in Dapchi, Yobe State, for political purposes.
Addressing a press conference, Kola Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary of PDP, observed, “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.
“Nigerians know that the main aim of this devilish act was to delude the public, set the stage for an orchestrated rescue, create a heroic myth and false sense of achievement around the APC administration and serve as a spur for President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration to contest the 2019 presidential election, perhaps in the coming weeks.
“As a political party, we want to further state unequivocally that by all ramifications, this is a war crime against humanity and gross violation of human rights on the part of the APC administration, all in the bid to push a selfish and ill-lucked 2019 ambition.”
According to him, “There is no evidence that the Boko Haram insurgents or any militant group abducted the schoolgirls in the first place. Rather, what is evident to all is the high level official manipulation of security movements in Dapchi both in the staged abduction and the returning of the traumatized schoolgirls.
“It is instructive to note that till date, no report has been presented by the National Security Adviser (NSA), who has been charged by President Muhammadu Buhari with investigation of the abduction. This is in addition to deliberate efforts by the government to suppress free flow of information around the abduction.
“Even the regular Nigerian on the street has examined the events leading to this abduction of our daughters as well as their release and can deduce the obvious.
“Nigerians are all aware that both the abduction and return of the schoolgirls were dramatically preceded by questionable withdrawal of troops and all security apparati at checkpoints and flashpoints in the Dapchi area.
“They are also aware that the Buhari Presidency, as the principal command center of military operations, has refused to come out clear on the compromising of security and why no arrest has so far been affected in the entire saga, thus betraying a high-level of government conspiracy against the citizens for political reasons.
“The PDP, therefore, calls on the United Nations (UN) and the International Criminal Court to declare this evil by the APC Federal Government a war crime against humanity and immediately commence investigation on the matter. We demand the arrest and prosecution of all those involved in this saga.
“In the same vein, we join Nigerians to demand for the setting up of UN-monitored Truth Commission to unravel the facts around the Dapchi event as well as the abduction of school girls in Chibok, Borno State in 2014.
“While we commiserate with the families of our loved daughters and rejoice with those whose daughters were brought home safely, we urge Nigerians to be alert and continue to monitor the activities of the APC as we approach the 2019 general election since it is now clear that this government will stop at nothing in its desperate bid to perpetuate itself in power against the will of the people,” the PDP spokesman added.
