A group, United Young Professionals (UYP) has urged the Nigeria Army to rescue the schoolgirls of Government Girls Science and Technical College (GGSTC) who were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists in Dapchi, Yobe State, on 19 Feb.

The group also urged the Nigerian army to stop trading blames especially with the Nigerian Police and the Yobe state government but speed up efforts at rescuing the abducted students.

Dapchi schoolgirls during the headcount on Tuesday.

A statement released by its National Coordinator, Mr. Adewole Kehinde in Abuja on Tuesday,  the group said the Nigerian Army didn’t inform the Police “officially” as claimed by the Army Spokesperson.

“There are ways and rules guiding hand-over of troubled territories to another security sister agencies.  But in the case of Dapchi, the Nigeria Army, through the spokesperson of the Operation Lafiya Dole, never informed or handed over to the Police. They just assumed the Police is on ground.”

Adewole, in the statement also said that “the Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Geidam has insisted that the abduction was preceded by the withdrawal of troops meant to safeguard the troubled area. He never made mention that the area was handed over to the Nigeria Police.”

“Governor, Ibrahim Geidam is the Chief Security Officer of Yobe State and his statement cannot be taken lightly as he has indicted the Nigeria Army as the cause of the adoption,” Adewole said.

He also said that “The claim by the spokesperson of the Operation Lafiya Dole, Col Nwachukwu that ‘Police should protect the civilian population whenever the Army have liberated a community from insurgent’ is not an enough excuse to say the Dapchi community was handed over ‘Officially’ to the Nigeria Police.”