Operatives of the Lagos Police Command have detained a 26-year-old man Benjamin Omade for alleged abduction and defilement of a teenage girl.
The victim was said to be the daughter of his next-door neighbour at Bariga.
It was gathered that Omade allegedly eloped with the underage girl since May 17 with no one knowing their whereabouts.
He was said to have taken her to 61, Odunsi Street, Bariga where the police tracked him to and arrested him on Sunday evening.
The Oyo State Police Command on Friday confirmed reports of abduction of some lecturers of the Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology (OYSCATECH).
Recall that the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics of the college, Mr. Opadijo Olujide; his secretary, Gbenga Alayande; and three others were reportedly kidnapped on their way from Saki on Thursday.
It was gathered that they were returning from a union meeting when the incident occurred.
No fewer than five persons had been abducted at different times, in the last two months, in Ibarapaland.
The latest kidnap of the lecturers, according to the Police Public Relations Officer, Gbenga Fadeyi, prompted the Commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu, to storm the area for an on-the-spot assessment.
Fadeyi said, “The Commissioner of Police went there in the morning for an on-the-spot assessment. Other developments will be unraveled.”
Friends and members of Dapchi community in Yobe on Tuesday gathered at the home of Leah Sharibu, who was abducted exactly a year ago by Boko Haram terrorists with other girls at Government Girls Science Technical College.
They demanded for the release of Leah, the only Christian girl left in captivity for refusing to deny her Christian faith.
Muslims and Christians also offered prayers for the release of Leah at her parent’s home in Dapchi.
Secretary of Association of Parents of Abducted Dapchi Girls, Kachalla Mohammed regretted the Federal Government’s efforts to rescue have not yielded dividends.
Kachalla noted the government needs to act fast to save her from Boko Haram and bring joy to the traumatised family.
“We are fasting and praying in the mosques and churches for Leah. Her parents are also praying in Yola.
“We have organised ourselves to show our displeasure over the slow rescue of Leah from Boko Haram by the Federal Government. We are looking forward to Leah’s releases
“We have gathered at Leah’s House in Dapchi today to show our solidarity to the mother and parents of Leah. As it is today, we don’t know the kind of condition that Leah is inside. Whether she is alive, healthy or sick, we don’t know.”
He went on: “I recalled three months ago, Mr. President sent a delegation to this House to come and promise to the parents of Leah and up to now, we have not seen Leah come back to her parents.
“Today is 19 February, 2019 exactly one year when Leah was taken with her mates.”
Some of the residents also expressed displeasure over the inability of the Federal Government to secure the release of Leah a year after giving so many assurances to the parents and the community.
“I personally cannot understand or believe that like joke this little girl has spent one year in the hands of Boko Haram and nobody is sure yet what will happen despite all the people that President Buhari has sent to Dapchi here to the family. This is not fair,” Adamu, a resident said.
Another resident, who identified himself as Yerima, informed that Dapchi will remain an unhappy community without the return of Leah.
“We also feel sad that this girl has not been returned to us. It’s a very sad development for us.
“This community will not have its complete joy until the day Leah will be released. Many parents were happy the day the other girls were returned but today, the news of Leah always make our joy seem incomplete,” Yerima said.
Leah’s aunty, Hyelakumi Mannaseh, amidst tears appealed to Boko Haram to free her niece, while calling on the Federal Government do what it takes for Leah’s freedom.
“We are pleading with Boko Haram. Let them release Leah as they released other. We are calling on the Federal Government to do something very fast so that the poor girl will be released.
“It is like we are all in captivity with Leah in this one year. We are not happy.
“We don’t know what we are doing, sometimes; we are behaving like mad people because of the condition that Leah is inside.
“We are still sure that Leah is not dead. We hope the death rumours is not true. We are still expecting to have her back by the grace of God Almighty,” She said.
The Pastor of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) Rev. Musa Ibrahim said the entire Church in Dapchi is grieving over the development.
“We are crying to government to hear our cry so that the family and the entire community will rejoice,” he said.
Chairman of Association of Parents of Dapchi Abducted Girls, Bashir Manzo, called on the Federal Government to pay whatever ransom Boko Haram demands to free Leah.
“The president should expedite actions on the release of Leah. Let the president pay whatever Boko Haram is requesting so that this little girl will be set free.
‘’They would have done anything within their powers to release this girl if it’s their own child,” Manzo said.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said he cannot be forced to take responsibility for the April 14, 2014 abduction of Chibok schoolgirls in Borno State.
The former Nigerian leader also said there is sense of worry among Nigerians regarding the neutrality of government agencies that will take part in the conduct of the 2019 general elections.
Jonathan, however, said he had faith in the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army and the Department of State Services to do well.
The former President said this during an interview on BBC.
He said, “We are a bit worried about the neutrality of the relevant agencies of government because with previous elections, I was not in the field. Of course after every election, people will complain naturally but those are the areas people are getting worried but I believe the elections will come and go and those bodies- INEC, the police, the army and the DSS will be able to do well.”
On the abduction of the over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok by Boko Haram in 2014, Jonathan said he could not take the blame for the incident.
Jonathan said rather, Boko Haram should be blamed for the abduction of the girls in 2014 because as a President he could not go to the battlefield to fight insurgents.
He said, “I cannot take responsibility for the abduction, I don’t control Boko Haram. They are criminals. But as a President, of course you know it is not the President that goes to the field. You have security and intelligence officers that do the work.
“Let me admit that yes, maybe they did their best but their best was not good enough for us to recover the girls. That I cannot say I am right or I am wrong. That does not mean I am trying to remove myself from any blame.
“I may not be blamed for the action but I could be blamed that my security intelligence system was not strong enough to rescue the girls. If I as a politician could tell the whole world that my political ambition for any office is not worth the blood of a single Nigerian, how would I be happy that girls have been kidnapped? I am not that kind of character.”
The former President also lamented the way the Chibok issue was politicised.
He wondered why a First Lady of the United States would take part in carrying a ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ placard.
Jonathan said, “Immediately the Chibok issue came up, we expected Nigerians to be concerned about how to get these girls out. Within a couple of days, we saw people going to the US with ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ placards. How? Why? And of course Mrs. Obama received one of those placards.”
The former President reiterated his concern over the supposed interference of President Barack Obama during the build-up to the 2015 general elections.
Jonathan questioned the rationale behind the visit of US Secretary of State, John Kerry, to Nigeria on the eve of the elections, adding that such an interference should not be swept under the carpet.
He said, “The level of interference by the Obama government was very overwhelming. It is not as if I could not have won the election even with that. If by my own thinking and also the way other people looked at it, they go outside the normal diplomatic relationship, then it should be mentioned.
“Sending that person to Nigeria on the eve of elections even after Obama had issued a statement directing Nigerians to vote for the next chapter, that tells you something and we should not sweep these things under the carpet.
“If a foreign country whether African country or America interferes with our own elections, we should mention it.”
ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) has called on the Federal Government to make the cities and spaces in schools more safe to avoid a repeat of the horrible experiences of the Chibok and more recently the Dapchi girls’ abduction saga which shook the entire nation.
The group said this in a statement to mark the fourth year remembrance of the Chibok girls’ kidnap which took place in April 2014.
The statement reads: “ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) continues to stand in solidarity with the families, friends and the entire community of the kidnapped Chibok girls, who in the last four years have endured the agony of missing their loved ones.
The Country Director of AAN Ene Obi say, ‘‘While we commend the efforts of the Federal Government and the Nigeria military for securing the release of some of these kidnapped girls. However, today we remember the 113 girls that are yet to be rescued and we join our voice with their families, friends in Nigeria and the international community to call on the Nigerian government to intensify effort to bring back the girls.’’
She added that ‘‘the abduction of the Dapchi girls’ although now released has further heightened the vulnerability of the Nigerian girl-child, both in conflict and non-conflict zones. Hence, government at all levels must prioritise safe cities, provision of security and safe spaces in our schools in order to encourage girls’ enrolment and retention as well as protect them from all forms of violence.
Ene concluded that ‘‘the Federal Government and the Nigeria military should adopt its intelligence, power and negotiation as deployed for the release of the Dapchi girls, to bring back the remaining 113 missing Chibok girls and 1 Dapchi girl, Leah Shuaibu.’’
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday accused President Muhammadu Buhari of staging the abduction and eventual release of the 110 girls from their hostels at the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.
The girls were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents on Monday 19, February 2018. They were however released on Wednesday (today) following mass appeals and negotiations nationally and internationally.
The PDP stated this in a special press conference it held on the return of the girls earlier in the day.
Read full statements below:
Text of Press Conference of the Peoples Democratic Party, on the Return of the Abducted Dapchi School Girls Presented by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, Today, March 21, 2018.
The Peoples Democratic Party (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.
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.
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 apparatus 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 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.
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 Boko Haram insurgents on Monday, February 19 abducted 110 girls from their hostels at the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.
The abduction of the girls fueled national and international outrage with several interest groups calling for their immediate release.
However, the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government in series of meetings with the parents of the abducted girls assured them (the parents) of the girls’ safe return home.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that the President last week visited the state to sympathize with the parents and other concerned residents about three weeks after the abduction took place.
The insurgents on Wednesday, March 21 released the abducted girls.
Below are some of the timelines of activities from the day of abduction to day of release.
Global human rights watchdog, Amnesty International, AI, has revealed that Nigerian security forces got advance warnings that a convoy of Boko Haram fighters was heading towards Dapchi, a town where 110 schoolgirls were abducted by terrorists on February 19 in an assault similar to the infamous Chibok girls’ abduction of April 2014.
It claimed that no fewer than five calls were put across to security forces between 2pm and 6:30pm on that fateful day of the abduction of female pupils from Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state.
In a report on the incident released yesterday, Amnesty International said the first call was made to the Nigerian Army Command in Geidam, 54km from Dapchi, informing them that Boko Haram fighters had been seen at Futchimiram heading to Gumsa, a village about 30km from Dapchi.
However, the evidence documented by the international group shows that the military did nothing to stop the insurgents.
“The sighting of an armed convoy at Futchimiram immediately sparked several phone calls to alert authorities. Sources who informed the military commander in Geidam at 2p.m. report that he responded to them by saying he was aware of the situation and was monitoring it.
“At about 3pm, the convoy arrived in Gumsa, where they remained till 5pm. People in Gumsa called Dapchi villagers to warn them that Boko Haram fighters were on their way. One villager who received such a call said he informed a police sergeant who promised to notify the Dapchi Division Police Officer (DPO).
“At about 6:30pm, when residents were heading to the mosque for evening prayers, Boko Haram members entered Dapchi. Witnesses said Boko Haram fighters asked for directions to the military post, the local government office and the girls’ school,” the report said.
Amnesty learnt from an eyewitness that approximately 50 Boko Haram fighters stormed Dapchi in a convoy of nine vehicles with Arabic inscriptions on them. The vehicles included seven Land Cruiser trucks, one Hilux and a Canter truck.
A police source in Dapchi also told the group that on sighting them, police officers fled because they feared that the Boko Haram fighters would overpower them. According to victims and eyewitnesses interviewed by AI, Boko Haram left Gumsa for Dapchi at about 5pm, arriving at about 6:30pm.
“They left Dapchi at about 7:30pm in the direction of Gumsa, where villagers say they arrived at about 9p.m. During the attack, army officials both in Geidam and Damaturu were again alerted. The military only arrived in Dapchi shortly after Boko Haram left. Villagers in Dapchi and Gumsa said a military jet arrived about one hour after Boko Haram left Dapchi,” read the report.
AI lamented that in spite of the several distress calls, the Nigerian military neither took effective measures to stop the abduction nor made serious efforts to rescue the girls after they were taken by Boko Haram fighters.
The Director, Amnesty International in Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, maintained in a statement that the Nigerian authorities have failed in their duty to protect civilians, just as they did in Chibok four years ago.
While describing the inaction as, “inexcusable security lapses”, Ojigho said, “Evidence available to Amnesty International suggests that there are insufficient troops deployed in the area, and that an absence of patrols and the failure to respond to warnings and engage with Boko Haram contributed to this tragedy. The government’s failure in this incident must be investigated and the findings made public and it is absolutely crucial that any investigation focuses on the root causes.”
…Says Buhari didn’t handle Dapchi abduction better than Jonathan did Chibok
A former aide of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s claims in Damaturu, Yobe, that he handled the recent abduction of 110 Dapchi schoolgirls ‘much better’ than Mr. Jonathan treated a similar incident in Chibok in 2014 is false.
Reno Omokri in a statement on Thursday rather defended his former boss saying it was Jonathan who treated the abduction with dispatch while Mr. Buhari chose to “look the other way”.
Recall President Buhari, while speaking in Damaturu where he went to sympathise with the parents of the Dapchi schoolgirls had used the occasion to take a swipe at his predecessor, who had also been criticised in the past for the abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls, although many have been reunited with their families.
Mr. Buhari in Damaturu had said: “The Federal Government’s response to the unfortunate abduction of the school girls is a clear departure from the insensitivity of the past administration which looked the other way while the Chibok girls were taken away in 2014 and held in captivity for over three years.
“Due to our commitment, over 100 Chibok girls have been rescued and reunited with their families, sent back to school and empowered with requisite skills.”
However, Mr. Omokri said it beats his “imagination why a President who is close to 80 years of age will continue to lie like a child”.
Read Omokri’s statement below:
“When the Chibok Girls were kidnapped, the Jonathan administration did not “look the other way” as President Buhari claims and historical records prove this. The Chibok Girls were kidnapped on April 14, 2014. Exactly three days later, on April 17, 2014, then President Goodluck Jonathan called an emergency National Security Council meeting at Aso Rock Presidential Villa. Is this the act of an administration or a President that looks away?
“Now more than two weeks after the Dapchi Girls were kidnapped, has President Buhari held a National Security Council meeting to address the situation? No, he has not. As a matter of fact, to prove to Nigerians how inept he is, the President canceled the Federal Executive Council meeting that was to hold after the Dapchi Girls were kidnapped because of a conference he had to attend.
“Between a President who calls an emergency meeting after Chibok and a President who canceled an important meeting so he could attend an economic conference, who can be described as looking the other way?
“Which serious leader cancels the most important meeting in his nation at a time when Kaduna is facing ethnic and religious killings, Zamfara is facing mass killings by bandits, Benue, Plateau, Adamawa and Taraba are facing an onslaught from Fulani herdsmen and 110 girls were kidnapped in Dapchi?
“When Yusuf Buhari had an accident, President Buhari canceled all his engagements and headed straight to the hospital. When the Dapchi Girls were kidnapped, the same President Buhari carried on as usual and went to Kano to go and dance and socialise at a Society Wedding!
“After the Jonathan administration held an emergency National Security Council meeting on April 17, 2014, the Nigerian Army and Air force began searching for the Chibok girls with sorties being flown in search of the girls.
“Let me remind Nigerians that one of the people who undermined the then administration’s anti-terror war was Muhammadu Buhari who on June 3, 2013 said the “military offensive against Boko Haram is anti-North”. I urge Nigerians to Google this direct quote to know their President better.
“And again, the President lied when he said his administration “rescued” 100 Chibok Girls. The Chibok Girls were not rescued. As a matter of fact, they were released by Boko Haram after the alleged payment of huge ransoms and freedom of captured Boko Haram commanders by the Buhari administration.
“Only two weeks ago, Shuaibu Moni, one of the Boko Haram commanders released by the Buhari administration went back to Sambisa Forest and released a video threatening Nigeria.
“Who knows whether it was moneys allegedly paid as ransom to Boko Haram or individuals freed by the government that were used to facilitate the kidnap of the Dapchi Girls and the recent killings of United Nations staff in Rann.
“Again, three weeks ago, Chief Mike Okiro, the head of the Police Service Commission, revealed that under President Muhammadu Buhari, 150,000 police men are guarding ‘big men’ instead of performing core police duties.
“President Buhari’s son, Yusuf, alone had more guards guarding him than the guards attached to Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi at the time of the kidnapping, yet the President has the guts to say he handled Daochi better than Jonathan handled Chibok. A serious President, knowing how vulnerable the Northeast is would have sent these 150,000 policemen to guard schools in the Northeast rather than send them out to guard APC big shots all over the country.
“Finally, can President Buhari, who claims to have defeated Boko Haram, tell the world how many people are killed Daily by Boko Haram under his regime as compared to the previous regime?
“In the first ten weeks of 2018, Boko Haram killed 519 people in the Northeast. Only a patently dishonest leader can claim to have defeated Boko Haram with such numbers.”
Buhari’s tour is already receiving more knocks than commendations.
In Makurdi, the president was derided by many when he said he was unaware, three months after, that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, failed to obey his directive to relocate to Benue to contain the perennial conflicts between herdsmen and farmers.
While many have called for the sack of Mr. Idris, the controversial cop was reportedly summoned by the president to give an update in the raging crisis in Benue state while presidential sources say the president would act on the matter “when he has all the details”.
President Muhammadu Buhari wil today meet with parents of the 110 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram on February 19 in Dapchi, Yobe State.
Recall that the President had earlier visited Taraba, Plateau and Benue states, where killings by herdsmen took place. He is also due to visit Niger State Thursday.
The Yobe State government officials on Tuesday said the President is not likely to visit Dapchi, unless there is a last-minute change in plans.
The chairman of the Forum of Dapchi Abducted School Girls Parents, Bashir Manzo confirmed the meeting with the president.
“Yes, we have been contacted to meet with the President tomorrow in Damaturu. I am leaving Dapchi today to sleep in Damaturu.”
He also urged the president to work fast in trying to rescue their daughters and reunite them with their parents.
Some of the parents of the abducted girls also confirmed that they had been invited to the Government House in Damaturu for the meeting.
“For us the parents of the missing girls, Our message to him is very clear; he should ensure that our daughters return safe and on time to us,” one of the parents said.
President Buhari on Monday told outgoing United State Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, that he preferred to negotiate the release of the girls rather than a military option.
There was heavy security in Damaturu yesterday ahead of the visit.
A detachment of security personnel including army, police and Civil Defence Corps were deployed in strategic locations.
The August 27 Stadium where the president is expected to land from an Air force helicopter enroute Maiduguri International Airport had been taken over by security with Armored Carriers mounted at the front of the stadium.
Some of the parents spoke on their expectations in separate interviews with newsmen in Damaturu.
Manzo the chairman said to negotiate the release is “a welcome development and we are happy about it.
“Use of force, as the only option, will result in death of many of the girls while negotiation provides for their safe return.”
The chairman, who encouraged government to go for dialogue to hasten return of the girls, said “the fact that the insurgents provide room for negotiation gives us hope for safe return of our daughters.”
Alhaji Baba Shehu, Secretary Dapchi Youth Development Association, also described the negotiation option as a healthy development.
“Government should deploy resources at its disposal to take this advantage and ensure safe return of the girls” he said.
Alhaji Ali Mohammed, a father of eight of the students, described negotiation as the only safe option for the insurgents to release the girls, saying he was happy “government had considered this option of negotiation”.
Maryam Alkali, a mother, said every mother would appreciate the option that will bring the girls back home safely.
“Let me state without fear of contradiction that every mother of the abducted girls will now have a strong hope for reunion with these girls” she said.
Malam Mustapha Imam, another parent, said “If government had resorted to military option alone, it may jeopardize the safety of the girls, so the option of negotiation is a welcome development.”
He however called on government to take strong precautionary measures in safeguarding every school in the country, especially those in the Northeast.
“Government has to invest heavily on security, especially in equipment, manpower and intelligence gathering for improved security,” Imam said