Over 100 girls still missing after Boko Haram attack

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More than 100 girls are still missing three days after suspected Boko Haram extremists attacked their school in northern Nigeria, parents said on Thursday, as fears grew that they may have been kidnapped like those from Chibok town nearly four years ago.

The government of Yobe state on Wednesday said the schoolgirls had been rescued by the military, sparking celebration in the streets of Dapchi, a town in remote northeast Nigeria.

But a day later, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam told villagers that close to 80 of the girls abducted on Monday evening were still unaccounted for, according to an apologetic statement from his spokesman.

Sandals are strewn in the yard of the Government Girls Science and Technical College staff quarters in Dapchi, Nigeria, on Feb. 22, 2018. /VCG Photo

One parent told The Associated Press that the parents had compiled a list of 101 missing children and presented it to the governor.

There have been a number of conflicting reports, in part because of limited access to the area.

Gaidam also sparked anger on a visit to Dapchi on Thursday, when he appeared to question whether there had even been any abduction.

"The girls scattered during the attack, and we can't be sure whether they were lost or taken," he said. "Nobody saw these girls being taken in vehicles. It is possible some of the girls came across motorists and they gave them a ride to some places."

As news of his comments spread, groups of angry youths set up barricades and burned car tyres in the streets, hurling missiles at the governor's convoy.

Soldiers (R) drive past a signpost leading to the Government Girls Science and Technical College staff quarters in Dapchi, Nigeria, on Feb. 22, 2018. /VCG Photo

Families claim the authorities tried to cover up the abduction. A federal government delegation spent less than an hour on the ground at the school, meeting Gaidam and military commanders before leaving by helicopter.

Parents and other local witnesses also told Reuters on Wednesday that they had been warned by Nigerian security and government officials not to disclose the students' disappearance.

Residents said Boko Haram fighters on Monday stormed the town in pick-up trucks and a lorry, dressed in military fatigues and turbans, firing weapons and shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest").

Boko Haram horrified the world when it abducted 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok almost four years ago.

While some escaped and many others were released as part of negotiations, about 100 remain with their captors.

That case drew global attention to the nine-year insurgency, which has left at least 20,000 dead and has sparked what the United Nations has called one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Monday’s attack will again raise questions about the government's grip on security in remote northeast Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015 on a promise to defeat the ISIL group affiliate and has repeatedly maintained they are now a spent force.

But civilians – especially those displaced by the conflict – remain vulnerable to suicide attacks and hit-and-run raids.

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Source(s): AP ,AFP ,Reuters