Report from ThisDayLive reveals a narration of how the school teachers of Chibok school took to their heels at the sound of the gunshots from the Boko-Haram members, most of them hid in their teachers' quarters in the school premise and worse of all, locked the gate (no way to run) and instructed them not to run!
One of the parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls Sunday
introduced a new twist to the saga surrounding the abduction of almost
300 girls from their school in Chibok, Borno State almost a month ago,
when he said the students were locked up by their teachers who
subsequently scampered for safety and left them at the mercy of the
terrorist group, Boko Haram.
Speaking to reporters who were in
Chibok Sunday for almost two hours, Watila Simon, the father of one of
the girls, Godiya Simon, said though he was out of town when the
insurgents laid siege to Chibok, he immediately made a phone call to his
daughter, but was told that the school had not yet been attacked.
His daughter was one of the few girls who was fortunate to escape from
the notorious Sambisa forest, the enclave of the terrorists. He said:
“I called my daughter in the school, asking, ‘Godiya where are
you?’ She told me she was in the hostel. Then I said but they are
attacking the town and they have started burning houses and you are
still in the school, and she said yes.
“I asked, ‘Are you together with soldiers?’ She said no, and I asked
about the police, and she said they were not with them, but that they
were safe in the school.”
He revealed that when he spoke with Godiya, the insurgents were still attacking the town and had not gone to the school.
“She equally told me that all the teachers had already left and there was no elderly person with them,” he said.
Simon said it was on the realisation that there was no one guarding the school that he told his daughter to take to her heels if the opportunity arose.
“I told her once the insurgents finished with the people in the town, they would turn to the school and she should run.
"When the sound of gunshots started in the town, the teachers were still with them but they later took to their heels, locked them in and ran away," he maintained, adding that “there are teachers’ quarters within the school premises where some teachers hid at the time of the attack”.
“She even told me that the teachers instructed them to stay put and not to run; then one of the teachers locked the gate so there was no way for them to escape.
"When the sound of gunshots started in the town, the teachers were still with them but they later took to their heels, locked them in and ran away," he maintained, adding that “there are teachers’ quarters within the school premises where some teachers hid at the time of the attack”.
“She even told me that the teachers instructed them to stay put and not to run; then one of the teachers locked the gate so there was no way for them to escape.
“As I expected, when Boko Haram finished with the town, they came for
the girls at the school. They told the girls to come with them, assuring
them that they were soldiers and the girls believed them because they
were in military uniforms. They were told that they would be protected
from the insurgents who were attacking the town and would be safe.
“The girls believed and complied. They were then asked to bring all
their mobile phones and it was then that they asked them to show them
where the government property was sited in the school and they picked
out some of the girls to show them.
“I knew that my daughter was in trouble immediately I called her and
she was no longer picking her calls. This was further confirmed the next
day when I called the people in town and they told me all our daughters
had been carried away,” he said.
On his reunion with his daughter, he said: “I am happy and I prayed to
God before her arrival. Since she got back, I have been having night
vigils with members of my family.”
Narrating how she escaped from her abductors, Godiya informed reporters that she and three other girls asked for permission to have a
bathroom break and seized the opportunity to flee.
She revealed that after running for a distance, they were subsequently assisted by a Fulani herdsman.
She said before her escape, the insurgents had threatened to kill them and were not properly fed during her short time in captivity.
She revealed that after running for a distance, they were subsequently assisted by a Fulani herdsman.
She said before her escape, the insurgents had threatened to kill them and were not properly fed during her short time in captivity.
Also opening up on his experience, Rev. Enoch Mark who had two
daughters abducted, said: “We ran into the bush on the night of the 14th
April and in the morning, we returned but the gunmen were still in
town.
“I learnt that one of my daughters had jumped out of the truck and got injured and this motivated me to run after them to retrieve her.
“I learnt that one of my daughters had jumped out of the truck and got injured and this motivated me to run after them to retrieve her.
“I saw some of them with their vehicles broken down but I could not
summon enough courage to approach them. I was warned by the people
around that I should leave the place if I did not want to be gunned down
since some of the insurgents were on trees and in surrounding bushes.”
He said they parked their vehicles all over and were in Chibok until
10.30 am the next day, “and because there was no help I was forced to
come back”.
He further disclosed that the soldiers on the night of the attack were
insufficient to match the number of the insurgents who attacked the
town, attributing it to the reason the girls were captured.
“The soldiers were overwhelmed and had to flee,” the reverend said, insisting that had the soldiers been more in number and well equipped, the schoolgirls would not have been abducted.
Mark said owing to the lack of security operatives, Chibok residents had to appeal to vigilante groups who demanded some money, which was paid by parents to assist them go after the insurgents.
“But this yielded no result,” he said.
“The soldiers were overwhelmed and had to flee,” the reverend said, insisting that had the soldiers been more in number and well equipped, the schoolgirls would not have been abducted.
Mark said owing to the lack of security operatives, Chibok residents had to appeal to vigilante groups who demanded some money, which was paid by parents to assist them go after the insurgents.
“But this yielded no result,” he said.
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