The former Ijaw Youth Council President and leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari
Question: You are quoted as saying that the abduction of the school girls in Chibok is a scam. Some people feel shocked by that statement coming from you even when we have seen the international community coming in…
Dokubo-Asari Responds: (Cuts in) which international community? The United States of America with her allies Britain and the European Union cajoled the whole world and told us that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. At the end of the day, were there weapons of mass destruction? There was none. So the international community for whatever intent and purpose that is compelling them to do what they are doing is best known to them. But it will not be far from economic interest. How can you believe that 270 girls will be taken? How? It is not possible. If you tell us that 20 girls were taken, 30, maybe 50, fine. How will you tell us that 270 girls were writing physics exam? How? In which school? Where? Even in the most educationally advanced part of this country, can you find any school where even 20 students are writing physics? I run a school. How many of my students are writing physics? They just finished their SSCE? And this is an elitist school, we make very good results. How many people are writing physics? Who are they telling? So, if you are not into education business, somebody can cajole you and tell you a lot of stories. When they took the students, the Principal, who said she thought they were soldiers, again said she was in Maiduguri for medical treatment when they came. Her daughter too was in the school. Why didn’t they take her daughter? Why did they take other peoples daughters? The military was aware four hours before the attack; the people who sent the information that Chibok was to be attacked four hours to the military, why did they not inform the chairman of Chibok, SSS Rep, DPO or anybody in Chibok? The Chibok community leader who has been talking, why didn’t they say, ‘Please, move the girls, we are suspecting that there was going to be an attack on the school? Move these children out of the school’. Why was it only the military they told? They couldn’t reach any other person but the military? What are they telling us now? Ok, today, one of the girls said she ran and jumped over the fence. She climbed the tree and then the man was saying come down, come down o’. What sort of thing is this now? So, the girl can climb a tree faster than a man with a gun? Why didn’t you just simply shoot her and he left her and went away? And some four persons were found in their house and they said they escaped and came back? What sort of stories?