The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) on Tuesday called on the federal government and everyone else to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped Dapchi schoolgirls. The forum asked for a quick revamp of the nation’s security architecture in order to avoid a repeat of what it likened to the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls.
Describing the act as wicked and callous, the ACF asked the Yobe state government, the military and the police to shelve the need to trade blames and focus all that energy on rescuing the girls. These are contained in a statement released by the ACF national publicity secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim Biu. It reads: “ACF shares the pains and trauma the parents of the girls, government and people of Yobe State and indeed Nigerians are going through and pray for their safe rescue and return to their parents soon.
“ACF urges the Military and other Security Agencies to deploy all resources at their disposal including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to the rescue of the abducted girls. “The blame game between the Yobe State government officials and the Military on one hand and among security agencies on the other over this unfortunate incidence is unnecessary and unhelpful.” It added that “All hands should, therefore, be on deck to ensure that the girls are rescued. The stories that the abducted girls were ferried across our borders or within some locations in Nigeria, should not be ignored for possible links to the whereabouts of the girls”.
