FG Sets up Panel to Probe Kidnap of Dapchi Schoolgirls, Releases List of Students

•    Chief of Air Staff relocates to Yobe
•   Again, US designates Boko Haram terrorist group, imposes new sanctions on leaders

Tobi Soniyi in Lagos, Olawale Ajimotokan and Chineme Okafor in Abuja

The federal government Tuesday set up a 12-member committee to unravel the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the 110 schoolgirls from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi, Yobe State, by Boko Haram terrorists.

It also released the names and other details of the girls. The list showed that the youngest student taken forcibly from the school is 11 years old, while the oldest is 19.
The list was contained in a statement issued Tuesday in Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The minister has twice led a federal government delegation to Yobe since the tragic incident occurred.

The list, which was handed over to the minister by the Yobe State Government, contained the names, ages and classes of each of the 110 students.
According to the statement, of the 110 missing girls, eight were in JSS1 (Junior Secondary School 1), 17 in JSS2, 12 in JSS3, 40 in SS1 (Senior Secondary School 1), 19 in SS2 and 14 in SS3.

The list, which also contained the contact addresses and phone numbers of each missing girl, was verified by a 26-member Screening Committee that included the Executive Secretary, Yobe State Teaching Service Board, Mr. Musa Abdulsalam; Director, Schools’ Management, Ministry of Education, Mr. Shuaibu Bulama; the Principal of GGSTC, Adama Abdulkarim; the two Vice-Principals, Ali Musa Mabu and Abdullahi Sule Lampo; Admission Officer, Mr. Bashir Ali Yerima; and the Form Masters for all the classes.

Also on Tuesday, the federal government set up a 12-member panel to unravel the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the girls.
Mohammed said the committee was convened by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd).

He said: “The committee, which will be chaired by a military officer of the rank of Major-General, comprises one senior provost each from the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force; representatives of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), two representatives of the Yobe State Government, and a representative of the Office of the NSA.”

According to the minister, the terms of reference of the committee include ascertaining the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the girls, confirming the presence, composition, scale and disposition of security emplaced in Dapchi as well as in GGSTC before the incident and suggesting measures that could lead to the location and rescue of the girls.

The panel, which is expected to submit its report by March 15, 2018, is also saddled with recommending measures to prevent future occurrence.
The committee will be inaugurated on Wednesday, Mohammed added.
He also disclosed that the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Tuesday relocated to Yobe State to personally superintend the search for the girls.

The minister said the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had earlier deployed more platforms to the North-east for the search, even as the security agencies ramped up efforts to locate and rescue the girls.

“As at 6 p.m. on Monday, the NAF had flown a total of 200 hours while conducting the search,” the minister said.

ISIS Affiliates Branded Terrorist Groups

But even as the Nigerian government ramped up efforts to secure the release of the girls from their captors, the U.S. State Department Tuesday designated Boko Haram and five other affiliate groups of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as terrorist organisations, a fact sheet obtained exclusively by THISDAY from the U.S. government has shown.

The U.S. government in November 2013 had designated Boko Haram and the Ansaru militant group as terrorist organisations, making Tuesday’s designation the second time the State Department has branded the Boko Haram sect terrorists.

Highlighting ISIS’ growth outside Iraq and Syria, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday that the move was aimed at the sustained targeting of the group and denying it access to its financial system.

The State Department added that it was part of a comprehensive plan to defeat ISIS and its affiliates in Bangladesh, Egypt, the Philippines, Somalia, Tunisia and Nigeria where the terrorists would be affected.

In addition, the department designated leaders and operatives of the ISIS-affiliates as terrorists.
They include Abu Musab al-Barnawi who leads ISIS-West Africa, which changed from Boko Haram.
In March 2015, ISIS reportedly welcomed Boko Haram’s decision to join Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s global network, shortly after Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau swore his allegiance to Baghdadi, said the State Department.

Also then, ISIS spokesman, Abu Muhammad al Adnani, welcomed Shekau and his men into the fold, and Boko Haram shortly rebranded as the Islamic State’s West Africa (ISWA).
A leadership disagreement, however, broke out in ISWA after ISIS publicly named Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the new head of ISWA in 2016.
Al-Barnawi is reported to be the son of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, and also Boko Haram’s former spokesman.

Apart from Al-Barnawi, the State Department also designated Mahad Moalim – ISIS-Somalia, and Mahad Moalim – ISIS-Somalia as terrorists.
The fact sheet said: “The Department of State has designated 40 ISIS leaders and operatives under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, and will continue to target the group to deny it access to the U.S. financial system.

“These designations are part of a larger comprehensive plan to defeat ISIS that, in coordination with the 75-member global coalition to defeat ISIS, has made significant progress toward that goal.

“This whole-of-government effort is destroying ISIS in its safe havens, denying its ability to recruit foreign terrorist fighters, stifling its financial resources, negating the false propaganda it disseminates over the internet and social media, and helping to stabilise liberated areas in Iraq and Syria so the displaced can return to their homes and begin to rebuild their lives.”

The State Department said in the fact sheet that it was authorised to designate Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs) under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as well as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order 13224.

“While only organisations can be designated as FTOs, a wider range of persons can be designated by the Department of State as SDGTs – including terrorist groups, leaders, and members of terrorist groups, as well as other individuals and entities that have committed or pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism.

“Terrorism designations expose and isolate organisations and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement activities of U.S. agencies and other governments,” it added.
The U.S. government also imposed new sanctions on Boko Haram and its factional leader, Abu Musab al-Barnawi.

A related report by Reuters said the new sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department targets the Islamic State and its affiliate networks around the world.

The U.S. Treasury Department added Boko Haram to the sanction list for global terrorism.
Mr. al-Barnawi and Mahad Moalim from Somalia and seven organisations in Africa and Asia, linked to Islamic state (ISIS), were added to the list.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the additions include ISIS-Philippines, ISIS-Bangladesh, ISIS-West Africa, ISIS-Egypt, ISIS-Somalia, Jund al-Khilafah-Tunisia, also known as ISIS-Tunisia, and the Philippines-based Maute Group, also known as Islamic State of Lanao.