- say 276 girls abducted, 223 still missing
From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri
Borno state Police Command and the Department of State Security Service, (DSS) office in the state yesterday, released new figures of the missing schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents, saying 276 students, not 234 were initially taken away.
This has contradicted the earlier claims by parents of the affected girls, who said 234 of their daughters were kidnapped when the insurgents attacked Government Girls Secondary School Chibok, over two weeks ago.
The state Police Commissioner, Lawal Tanko and the Director of SSS, Ahmed Abdullahi disclosed this at a joint press briefing held in Maiduguri last night.
Tanko, who led the briefing explained that the new figures was still not authentic as the actual numbers of the missing girls could only be verified when more parents who were yet to know the whereabouts of the daughters lodge a complaints.
The CP added that a total of 530 students from Chibok and other neighbouring towns sat for the final examinations, and that 276 were abducted, while 53 others escaped. Based on this, he revealed that so far, a total of 223 others were presumed to be in captivity.
“Till this moment, the actual numbers of the kidnapped girls is yet to be known but we are just making assumptions based on the complaints so far received from parents.
He appealed to all parents whose daughters were missing to report so to the nearest security outfit so that a reliable comprehensive figure of the students involved could be realised.
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