TheCable

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the abduction of Dapchi schoolgirls was staged by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and certain officials in the presidency for political purposes.

Kola Ologbondiyan, spokesman of the PDP, made the comment on Wednesday in reaction to the return of 101 schoolgirls that were abducted in Dapchi, Yobe state.

He said the abduction was designed “to hoodwink Nigerians and orchestrate a great rescue and security prowess of a conquering general”.

The PDP spokesman said it is “an unpardonable gamble with human lives” to win the 2019 elections.

He said: “PDP condemns the All Progressives Congress (APC) and certain officials in the Presidency for staging the abduction of the schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State, for political purposes.

“Our party considers this act as wicked, callous and tormenting to use innocent schoolgirls as pawns in an ignoble script that was designed to hoodwink Nigerians and orchestrate a great rescue and security prowess of a conquering general, all to push a 2019 reelection bid, is an unpardonable gamble with human lives.

“While this failed Dapchi drama remains a poorly crafted tragicomedy: a scam of no equal dimension, Nigerians are not ready to forgive the APC and the presidency for the torments inflicted on the girls, their parents and the human community worldwide just to score a cheap political point.

“Nigerians know that the main aim of this devilish act was to delude the public, set the stage for an orchestrated rescue, create a heroic myth and false sense of achievement around the APC administration and serve as a spur for President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration to contest the 2019 presidential election, perhaps in the coming weeks.

“As a political party, we want to further state unequivocally that by all ramifications, this is a war crime against humanity and gross violation of human rights on the part of the APC administration, all in the bid to push a selfish and ill-lucked 2019 ambition.

“There is no evidence that the Boko Haram insurgents or any militant group abducted the schoolgirls in the first place. Rather, what is evident to all is the high level official manipulation of security movements in Dapchi both in the staged abduction and the returning of the traumatised schoolgirls.

“It is instructive to note that till date, no report has been presented by the national security adviser (NSA), who has been charged by President Muhammadu Buhari with investigation of the abduction.

“This is in addition to deliberate efforts by the government to suppress free flow of information around the abduction.

“Nigerians are all aware that both the abduction and return of the schoolgirls were dramatically preceded by questionable withdrawal of troops and all security apparatus at checkpoints and flashpoints in the Dapchi area.”

Ologbondiyan also alleged that there is a high-level of conspiracy in government against the citizens.