…As Yobe Gov’t says 48 schoolgirls found, 46 still missing, after Boko Haram attack***

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency has said that oil and gas installations in the country are daily confronted by diverse threats and that security agencies must come together to protect the maritime domain.

The Director-General, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, said this in Abuja on Wednesday at a quarterly meeting and workshop on National Counter Terrorism Strategy Secure Pillar.

The workshop was jointly organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser and NIMASA.

Peterside said the shipping industry as well as oil and gas installations were important sources of income for the growth of the country’s economy, noting that identified threats included piracy, illegal bunkering and terrorism.

He stated, “Every effort in the fight against terrorism goes a long way in the overall success of our counter terrorism strategy. Besides our economic challenges, the next hard challenge for our nation is the issue of security and terrorism. There is a need for strong synergy and collaboration among security agencies in the war against terrorism and insecurity.

“For us in NIMASA, we shall continue to collaborate with the ONSA for capacity building in maritime security. The shipping industry and oil and gas installations are confronted daily by diverse threats. Piracy, illegal bunkering and terrorism are also known threats. The expanse of Nigeria’s maritime area compares to about one-third of Nigeria’s total land area.”

The NSA, Maj-.Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd), said the workshop would help to fight criminalities and secure the maritime sector.

He stated, “The counter- terrorism strategy is a crucial collaboration towards achieving the desired objectives of securing our nation against terrorist groups and other criminalities. It is in this light that we partner NIMASA to implement the counter terrorism strategy through the five pillars of forestall, secure, identify, prepare and implement.”

Meanwhile, forty-eight of the missing 94 pupils of the Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, have come out of hiding.

The Yobe State Commissioner for Education, Mohammed Lamin, who stated this in Damaturu, added that the state government had organised search parties to look for the remaining 46 pupils.

The Busari Local Government Area, where the attack happened is 100 kilometres away from Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.

Lamin explained that the school registered 28 missing students that returned on Tuesday, saying 20 more were received from Magwaram village on Wednesday.

He said, “This has brought down the number of missing pupils from 94 to 48 as of this morning (Wednesday). We are still hopeful that more pupils will return soon.”

The commissioner asked parents to report to the school whenever their children arrived home.

An anonymous source in the school told our correspondent that the 28 students that returned were rescued by villagers from bushes around Dapchi town.

The source said, “Some of the children trekked between 15 and 20 kilometres in the bush to save their lives. We have also received calls from Fulani settlements that they are bringing more students they found in the bush.”

“So far, no dead body has been recovered, but we heard that one pupil was bitten by a snake. She was said to have been treated locally. But she would be taken to a hospital in Damaturu for proper attention.”

It was gathered that a combined team of security operatives had been drafted to the area to search for the remaining missing students.

The Yobe Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, charged the military and other security outfits to ensure that none of the pupil was lost.

The governor in a statement by his spokesman, Abdullahi Bego, said, “The Yobe State Government is working with the Nigerian Army and other security and law enforcement agencies to ensure that all students in the school are fully accounted for.

“As the public is aware, the pupils were helped by their teachers to escape to the surrounding bushes and villages as terrorists stormed the town on Monday.

“Many pupils are still unaccounted for, but the Yobe State Government has been receiving the girls that were found in the general area to which they escaped.

“The government is coordinating with law enforcement agencies to ensure that those girls are returned safely.”

“The Yobe State Government has no credible information as to whether any of the schoolgirls was taken hostage by the terrorists.

“The Yobe State Government assures parents and the school community that it will do everything necessary to ensure that all the missing girls are found and returned to their school and families and that security is improved in the area.”

The state government, in another statement send around 10pm, said more pupils had been rescued by by “gallant officers and men of the Nigerian Army from the terrorists who abducted them.”

The government further stated that the “rescued girls are now in the custody of the Nigerian Army.”

“We will provide more details about their number and condition in due course,” the statement added.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday directed the military and other security agencies to immediately take charge of Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Mohammed said the President gave the directive immediately after he was informed of the development.

He added that Buhari had asked him and two other ministers to visit the school on Thursday (today).

He listed the other two ministers as the Minister of Defence, Monsur Dan-Ali; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.

Mohammed said, “Mr. President has directed military and other security agencies to take immediate charge and control of Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, after he was informed of the development.

“He has released a delegation, led by the Minister of Defence, to Dapchi to get first hand information as to what is happening there tomorrow (Thursday).

Earlier, the Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Mr Abdulmalik Sunmonu, said none of the girls was abducted by Boko Haram terrorists during the attack.

“The area in question has a vast expanse of land bordering Borno State; and most of the girls who ran into the bush in the wake of the attack would have to travel long distances to get to where they can get help.

“My command, in conjunction with the military, is on top of the situation. The school has been closed down for one week and the area has been reinforced with enough security,” the CP said.

On the efforts the police are making to prevent future attacks on schools in the state, Sunmonu said the police and the military had been sensitising the people to be security conscious and give security agencies information.

Also, the spokesman for the military counter-insurgency operation in the North-East, Operation Lafiya Dole, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said the military could not say if there was any abduction in the school.

He said, “The information so far received is that the principal of the school dispersed the students on hearing continuous shootings before the insurgents arrived on the school premises.

Punch