Federal Government has set up a 12-member committee to unravel the circumstances surrounding the abduction of 110 students of the Government Girls Science and Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi, Yobe State, following the attack on the school by insurgents on February 19, 2018.
The government also released the list of the missing girls, saying out of the 110 of them, 8 are in JSS1, 17 in JSS2, 12 in JSS3, 40 in SS1, 19 in SS2 and 14 in SS3, and are of ages range from 11 to 19 years.
The committee convened by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno (rtd) a major general, would be inaugurated tomorrow Wednesday, according to a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.
The Committee, would be chaired by a military officer of the rank of Major-General, and comprises one senior Provost each from the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force; representatives of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA); Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA); Nigeria Police Force (NPF); Department of State Services (DSS); Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC); two representatives of the Yobe State Government and a representative of the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The terms of reference of the Committee include ascertaining the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the girls, confirming the presence, composition, scale and disposition of security emplaced in Dapchi as well as in GGSTC before the incident and suggesting measures that can lead to the location and rescue of the girls.
The panel, which is expected to submit its report by 15 March 2018, is also saddled with recommending measures to prevent future occurrence.
Meanwhile details of the abducted girls was contained in another statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by Lai Mohammed and contains the name, age and class of each of the 110 students.
Out of the 110 missing girls, 8 are in JSS1, 17 in JSS2, 12 in JSS3, 40 in SS1, 19 in SS2 and 14 in SS3. The girls’ ages range from 11 to 19 years.
The list, which also contains the contact address and phone number of each missing girl, was verified by a 26-member Screening Committee that includes the Executive Secretary, State Teaching Service Board, Musa Abdulsalam; Director, Schools’ Management, Ministry of Education, Shuaibu Bulama; Principal of GGSTC, Adama Abdulkarim; the two Vice Principals, Ali Musa Mabu and Abdullahi Sule Lampo; Admission Officer,Bashir Ali Yerima, and the Form Masters for all the classes.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on Tuesday relocated to Yobe State to personally superintend the search for the girls.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had earlier deployed more platforms to the North-east for the search, as the security agencies ramp up their efforts to locate and rescue the girls.
As at 6 pm on Monday, the NAF had flown a total of 200 hours while conducting the search.
Oyin Aminu, Abuja.
