Abduction: Principal, CP give conflicting reports on number of missing girls

Officials of the Borno State Government on Monday in Abuja gave conflicting reports about the number of girls that were abducted at the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.
They gave this information at the Presidential villa during a meeting convened by the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, with women to know the actual number of girls abducted from the school.
The Principal of the school, Hajiya Asabe Kwabura, said 395 girls registered for the exams before the attack on her school, while 53 girls had returned and 223 were pending.
Kwabura said: “Since yesterday that I left the meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, I was invited to the Police Headquarters.
“We have received 53 girls but 223 are still missing.
“Some of the returned girls have also refused to continue with their examination due to fear.
“Records of the students were burnt down during the rampage but I have a few on my laptop.
“I was on admission in Maiduguri as a result of health challenges during the time of the attack
“I am a diabetic patient.
“I went to Maiduguri for checkup.
“I usually go every two weeks.
“We only have night watchmen.
“Chibok used to be a safe place before this incident.
“They came in around 11.30 pm.
“My daughter called and asked me to pray for them because there was trouble in the school.
“The school sergeant, who is an ex-policeman, also called.
“They told me that the insurgents asked for the store and broke into it.
“Before they reached the staff quarters, the teachers ran away.
“My granddaughter was also abducted.
“Her name is Dorcas Yakubu.”
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Alhaji Tanko Lawan, said according to documents in his possession, 41 girls had returned and he was unsure of the number of those missing.
Lawan said: “According to our documentation, 41 girls have been returned to their parents.
“The police did not at any time hinder them from seeing their parents.
“The principal did not request for security when the students were writing their WAEC.”
The Commissioner for Education corroborated the principal that 53 girls escaped but could not give the specific number of those still missing.
He said: “I took the letter and WAEC officials to the Deputy Governor but he was not around.
“I said it is better we apply and get the school secured because it would be impossible for us to relocate all schools.
“We agreed that the exam will hold in areas we feel are safe.
“We worked a way to get the question papers.
“We said all papers should come from Adamawa.
“The Governor did not fail in his responsibility.
“It is not the responsibility of the principal to ask for security.
“It is the ministry.
“I have a copy of a letter which we wrote to the General Officer Commanding in charge of Damboa.”
The Head of the Nigeria National Office of the West African Examinations Council, Charles Eguridu, had on Friday said 530 students enrolled for the exams in the school.
Out of the number, 135 were males while 395 were females, with 189 relocated to Uba, Adamawa State.
Shedding more light on the issue Eguridu said: “Three hundred and eighty-seven girls from our record sat for the English examination before the abductions while only 80 sat for math after the insurgents’ attack.”
He said overaged men registered for the exam because the school had refused to use the bio-metric capture data device it was given.
He added: “We use a hand-held device to record names and data of students and sent to the database but the school never used this equipment.
“I had to go to the original entries to download the pictures.
“I promise that this abuse will not be repeated in any school again and I apologise.”