Abducted girls: Governor Shettima, school authorities culpable – CAN

The Christian Association of Nigeria, Northern States and FCT chapter, has implicated the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, and the school authorities of the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, over the abduction of schoolgirls partaking in the examinations of the West African Examinations Council.

Apart from this, CAN in the North also claimed that the number of students abducted was 353 and not 234 as being claimed.

The Christian Association of Nigeria, Northern States and FCT chapter, has implicated the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, and the school authorities of the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, over the abduction of schoolgirls partaking in the examinations of the West African Examinations Council.

Apart from this, CAN in the North also claimed that the number of students abducted was 353 and not 234 as being claimed.

CAN in a statement on Wednesday by Prof. Daniel Babayi (Secretary-General) and Sunday Oibe (Public Relations Officer) said there were pertinent questions that Shettima and the school authorities needed to answer on the abduction of the girls.

It accused Shettima of intimidating the parents and guardians of the abducted girls, saying this was why none of them had come out to speak openly on the abduction saga.

CAN also questioned the school authorities over their roles in the abduction, wondering why none of their own children was abducted.

The statement reads: “Since the abduction of some female students in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, Northern CAN has decided to be silent for some reasons. We have decided that we will make statements when we have all the facts of the matter. It may interest Nigerians to know that we have fundamental questions which demand one million answers:

“1.    Since the abduction of these girls over two weeks ago, has Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, constituted any panel of investigation with a view to making its report public?

“2.    How did the 353 female students disappear from the school into the thin air?

“3.    Why did the Borno State Commissioner for Education, Principal, Vice

Principal and Chief Security Officer, all Muslims, ignore the valid advice of WAEC on the security implication of writing exams in the school and the need to have a centre where the children’s life will be secured?

“4.    How did Boko Haram carry over 200 students and their food stolen by these criminals from the school? Was it carried with trailer?

“5.    Why is it that since this issue came up, no single photograph of the abducted children was made public by the school authorities? After all, they were preparing for exams and may have submitted their photographs.

“6.    Where were the daughters of the Principal, Vice Principal and Chief Security Officer when the abduction took place?

“We hope that this is not a political gimmick to carry out a political conspiracy against these daughters of Nigerians, future mothers of Nigeria and citizens who are wants to be leaders of tomorrow.

“So these are the questions; we have done our investigations, we are begging the international community, we are begging the Federal Government of Nigeria and the press to ask these legitimate questions from the Governor, Commissioner for Education, Principal and CSO of the school because Chibok is a predominantly Christian area. What we are after is the safety and future of these children, whether they are Christians or Muslims or our enemies doesn’t matter. They are Nigerians, first and foremost.

“Our positions are as follows:

“1. The Governor and government of Borno State should and must as a matter of urgency stop playing politics with the lives of the children of other people. They should produce those children without delay because they know their whereabouts.

“2. We demand an explanation from the Governor, Commissioner for Education, Principal and CSO of the school on what they did and what they did not do that led to the ferrying away of these innocent children who went to sit for an examination for the betterment of their tomorrow.

“3. How come that the parents of these children have not been able to come out and say anything? Are they saying that these children are orphans and do not have parents? We demand an explanation because from our investigation, parents of these children are facing intimidation and threats from the government of Borno State. That is why they could not come out to speak; but they are nursing their pains in silence.

“4. We also demand that the Federal Government and the international community should help us beg the Governor of Borno State to do everything within his powers to produce these children.

“5. We also reject a situation where they will turn our daughters to be sex slaves of these criminals called Boko Haram members. We have it on good authority that some of these children are being raped 15 times a day. Some of these children are being compelled to be wives of these criminals. If you want to marry somebody’s daughter, you must seek the consent of her parents and not to ferry under-aged children and perpetrate a lot of havoc on them.

“The abduction of these girls seems a resurrection of what the Christian communities in Northern Nigeria have been suffering for centuries in the hands of the Emirs and Imams regarding forceful conversion and abduction of Christian girls. Borno State government should be reminded that the fundamental human rights of these people should be respected and protected.

“The Governor should provide immediate explanation because we know that some people want to sacrifice these children on the altar of politics. There is a limit to which Christians would tolerate all these abnormalities. We suspect a conspiracy among all of these characters including the Governor, Commissioner for Education, Principal and CSO since non of the daughters of the teachers and Principal were abducted; there is more to it and this is the position of Northern CAN.”