Nigerian leader calls abduction a 'national disaster'

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Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said his country had suffered a "national disaster" when dozens of girls went missing after Boko Haram militants attacked their school.

"This is a national disaster. We are sorry that this could have happened," said Buhari in a statement, issued five days after the attack in the town of Dapchi, in the northeastern Yobe state.

"We pray that our gallant armed forces will locate and safely return your missing family members.

"Our government is sending more troops and surveillance aircraft to keep an eye on all movements in the entire territory on a 24-hour basis, in the hope that all the missing girls will be found."

A signpost leading to the Government Girls Science and Technical College staff quarters in Dapchi, Nigeria, February 22, 2018. /VCG Photo

One hundred and five girls were listed as missing after the attack on their boarding school on Monday evening, according to a newly-formed parents association.

With many of the girls failing to return home, fears are growing that dozens have been kidnapped, reviving memories of the mass abduction of more than 200 girls from Chibok in April 2014.

The government school in Dapchi has been temporarily shut down. Authorities say it is to enable students to reunite with their families and calm fears after the Boko Haram attack. But the residents of Dapchi village are still reeling from shock.

The attack has cast the spotlight on Nigeria's ability to secure hard-to-reach rural areas in the remote region and its repeated claims that Boko Haram is on the verge of defeat.

The group's relentless assault on Nigeria's northeast since 2009 has spared few, targeting not only schools but mosques and markets.

The militants have increasingly turned to kidnapping for ransom as a way to finance their operations and win back key commanders in prisoner swaps with the Nigerian government.

[Cover photo: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the 30th African Union Heads of State and Government Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 28, 2018. /VCG Photo]

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Source(s): AFP