Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam with Speaker Yobe House of Assembly, Adamu Dala Dogo
Seething with anger, Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam yesterday urged the Federal Government to deploy more troops in his state or the people of Yobe and Borno states “will be gradually wiped out” by Boko Haram insurgents.
Speaking on the horrific attack on pupils, he said:
“It is most unfortunate that in the past one year, we have experienced these kind of ugly acts from some insurgents for the fourth time, today.
“The first one was at Government Day Secondary School, Damaturu; the second one was in Mamudo Government School and the third in College of Agriculture, Gujba. In Damaturu Secondary School, the insurgents massacred about nine pupils. In Mamudo, they killed about 24. In College of Agric, they killed about 40 students.
“It is unfortunate. The action is highly barbaric, wicked, inhuman and immoral and it is devastating at the same time. It is unfortunate that up to five-six hours of killing and massacre, there were no security men around to contain the situation. At the same time, I’m aware that the military command in Yobe lacks adequate number of troops. Despite that, they must change their strategy of operation. If you pull out the military in the town and taking them out to operate in another place, there should be some few left on ground to contain any unforeseen circumstances. I believe they should change their strategy.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or the chief of army staff and chief of defence staff or whoever is concerned to send, as a matter of urgency, more troops to Yobe to contain these insurgents.
“I was made to understand clearly that they don’t have enough number of troops to cover each and every school in Yobe, but at the same time, they need a change in strategy to tackle this problem.
“It is unfortunate that our grand-children are dying for lack of care, perhaps from the Federal Government. These things are happening only in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states in the North eastern part. Whatever it is, we have seen quite a number of troops in Maiduguri, and we need to get more here. We will all die but the circumstance of the death is what matters. How can you just take arms and come and meet defenceless students, kill them, burn them and go away and then move to another school and do the same.
“I think the Federal Government should be more serious to ensure that these inadequacies are arrested; otherwise, I think they will gradually wipe out all the people in Yobe and Borno states. I so observe,” Gaidam said
The governor went on: “We are constrained that the security men are not under the jurisdiction of the state government. The arrangement of police, sss and soldiers is vested in the Federal Government and we are still calling on them to live up to their responsibilities.
“I also want to condole with the families of those who lost their lives and pray for Allah to forgive them their sins,” he said.
The governor gave a cash donation of N100 million to the members of staff of the college.
One of the teachers told our reporter that the attackers came in Hilux vans with some dressed in military uniforms and bulletproof vests.
They came in and started shooting. Some of them were fully kitted in military uniform with bullet proof vests. Only boys were killed and the girls were left unhurt. None of the girls was abducted by the insurgents – to my knowledge,” he said.
A senior teacher who took the governor round the school also lost his son in the attack.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) under the aegis of Nigerian Students NANS Zone ‘C’, comprising of Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba,Yobe states and FCT Abuja, condemned the attack.
A statement signed by Comrade Dauda Muhammad Gombe, Comrade Baba Adamu Muhammad, said: “The attack on innocent students is very serious and an issue of concern to all.”
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