President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday apologised for the attack which led to the abduction of students from the Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state.
In a statement released to newsmen by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the president described the incident as a national disaster.
The president disclosed that the federal government would be sending more troops and surveillance aircraft for a 24-hour surveillance of the area. Buhari said: “When I received the devastating news of the attack on the school and the fact that the local authorities could not account for all the students, I immediately dispatched a high-level delegation on a fact-finding visit to the town.
“I also instructed the security agencies to deploy in full and not spare any effort to ensure that all the girls are returned safely, and the attackers arrested and made to face justice.“The entire country stands as one with the girls families, the government and the people of Yobe State.
“This is a national disaster. We are sorry that this could have happened and share your pain. 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.”