The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as well as the Bring Back Our Girls, BBOG, group have reacted to the statement by the Defence Minister, Mansur Dan-Ali, that the Dapchi schoolgirls would be released in two weeks’ time.
The insurgents invaded the Government Girls Science Technical College, GGSTC, Dapchi, in Yobe State on February 19, and abducted 110 students.
The Defence minister Mansur Dan-Ali had given assurances on Saturday during a television programme that the abducted school girls will soon regain their freedom as the military is closing in on them.
He said: “It can be earlier; maybe a week, it can be two weeks, but we are on it, and I’m telling you with all sense of sincerity that we are closing in on them,” he told ChannelsTV.
However, in a swift reaction, the PDP said the Minister’s statement portrayed the impression that government knew where the girls were kept.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, told Vanguard that the Minister’s assurance of the imminent rescue of the abducted girls was an indication that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, administration knew a thing or two about the whereabouts of the girls.
“If the minister said the girls will be rescued soon, that raises a lot of questions.
“It shows that there is a conspiracy on the part of government.
“That also means that those who said government kept the girls somewhere for a purpose knew what they are talking about.
“But we need to ask the minister how soon the girls will reunite with their families.”
Similarly, the BBOG group, speaking through its spokesperson, Sesugh Akume, welcomed the new development, saying that, that was exactly what the group wanted.
“We heard the comments by the Minister of Defence. That is what we want. We want all the Dapchi girls back.
“Today makes it one month since the Dapchi girls were abducted. It is also four years since the abduction of Chibok girls.
“We want all of them back. Despite what the minister said, we asked certain questions that needed to be answered.
“Whether they are back or not, we want the questions answered.
“The fact that they will be released does not do away with the fact that we want all our questions answered. We want to know why it happened,” he said.
