The Secretary to the Yobe State Government, Mohammed Goje, has disclosed that all the schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, in 2018 have regained their freedom, except Leah Sharibu, who remains in captivity.
Goje made the disclosure in an exclusive interview with an online news platform on Tuesday while responding to questions on the Buni-led administration’s seven years in office since 2019.
According to the SSG, the Dapchi girls’ incident is no longer a major issue before the state government, since all the abductees, except Sharibu, had been released before the current administration took office in 2019.
He said that with the exception of Leah Sharibu, who he believes remains in captivity, all the Dapchi girls had been rescued even before 2019, describing the story as one already resolved before the current administration came on board.
An online news platform reports that Sharibu, a Christian among the 110 schoolgirls abducted by insurgents from the Dapchi school in February 2018, was reportedly held back after refusing to renounce her Christian faith, while the remaining girls were released about a month after the abduction.
Although there have been unverified reports over the years about her condition, the Federal Government has repeatedly assured Nigerians that efforts to secure her freedom remain ongoing.
Speaking further, Goje said the administration of Governor Mai Mala Buni has prioritised restoring security across Yobe, noting that significant progress has been recorded since 2019.
He said improved security has made every local government area in the state accessible, unlike the situation the administration met when it came into office.
He recalled that when the administration took over in 2019, the North-East was deeply affected by insurgency, with many communities inaccessible due to attacks by Boko Haram and other non-state armed groups, but said that today.
There is no local government in Yobe State that remains inaccessible, allowing both residents and humanitarian organisations to reach communities that were previously cut off.
The SSG added that security improvements also extended to the ward level, saying almost all political wards across the state are now accessible. He noted that with the exception of a few communities in one ward, virtually all political wards in Yobe are now reachable, describing this as evidence of the level of improvement achieved in security.
Goje maintained that the restoration of peace has enabled displaced residents to return to their ancestral communities, while government interventions in agriculture, healthcare, education and livelihoods were helping them rebuild their lives.
He said the administration has reconstructed damaged public infrastructure, supported farmers with agricultural inputs and mechanisation, expanded healthcare services and implemented empowerment programmes to encourage displaced families to remain in their communities, stressing that the priority has been ensuring people not only return home but are able to rebuild their lives.
Hence the focus on reconstructing public facilities, supporting farmers, expanding healthcare and introducing empowerment programmes to help returning communities become self-reliant again.
Goje disclosed further that Yobe became the first state in the country to domesticate the National Internally Displaced Persons Policy and develop a Durable Solutions Action Plan to guide the resettlement and integration of displaced persons.
According to him, the policy allows displaced persons to decide whether to return to their ancestral communities, remain where they currently live, or relocate elsewhere, with government providing the necessary social services to support whichever option they choose.
The online news platform reports that the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls on February 19, 2018, attracted widespread national and international condemnation and renewed concerns over attacks on schools in the North-East.
While 104 of the girls were released by their captors the following month and another was later confirmed d3ad, Leah Sharibu remains the only known student yet to regain her freedom more than eight years after the incident.
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