Chibok Girls’ Abduction: Jonathan campaign insists Gov. Shettima is Culpable

The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation on Tuesday insisted that Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State is culpable in the April 2014 abduction of over 200 girls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, by Boko Haram insurgents.

The Director of Media and Publicity of the campaign organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, alleged that the governor, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari and the party’s spokesperson, Lai Mohammed knew the whereabouts of the missing girls.

Mr. Shettima, however, denied the allegation, saying no one should take Mr. Fani-Kayode serious as he “is one Nigerian that is physically an adult but mentally an infant. We all know that going into exchange with an infant is like having a dialogue with the blind, deaf and dumb.”

But the PDPPCO in a statement on Tuesday, said it was time for Nigerians to know the truth about the APC leaders and the way in which some of them emerged to become governors.

“The case of Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state is instructive. This is a man who emerged as the governor only after the man that won the nomination to become the flag-bearer of his party, Alhaji Mode Fannami Gubio, was mysteriously gunned down in the sanctity of his home by a group of unknown gunmen,” the statement said.

“It was after Gubio was killed in cold blood that Kashim, who came second in the primary, emerged as the gubernatorial candidate of the party. The question is: Who killed Gubio to make way for Shettima and whether it is true that the murder had the Boko Haram link.

“Could it be, as many suspect, that Boko Haram were more comfortable with Shettima as governor than with Gubio? Is that why they killed him? Is it true that Shettima is friend with Boko Haram and that he paid them protection money for a number of years? These are just some of the questions that Governor Kashim Shettima must answer.”

The organisation said it was amusing that the governor told the world a lie. It said contrary to Mr. Shettima’s claim, it never accused somebody previously for the abduction of the girls.

“The fact of the matter is that our story has been consistent and clear right from the beginning and the records are there for all to see,” it said.

“We have said it from day one that the Governor of Borno State is culpable, and have questions to answer about the abduction of the Chibok girls. This is because he broke his promise to guarantee the security of those girls and he allowed them to be abducted.

“It is either he is suffering from memory loss or he is incompetent, insensitive and manifestly ignorant about what is going on around him, or together with others, planned the whole thing from the outset in order to embarrass the Federal Government and to bring our President and our armed forces into disrepute.

“Either way, come rain, come shine, at the appropriate time, Kashim Shettima would answer to God and he would answer to the Nigerian people for what has happened to those girls.”

The PDPPCO wondered why the governor questioned its role in the matter. It said rather than addressing the issue the governor hurled personal insult on the members of the organisation.

The organisation said, “The questions are simple and clear: Did he or did he not ignore the Federal Government’s warning and that of WAEC when they advised him not to allow those examinations to take place in Chibok? And secondly, did he or did he not guarantee the security of those girls? Thirdly, is it not true that he failed to deploy any security personnel to that school that night?

“The record shows that despite his promises of ensuring that the girls would be protected, not one security operative, policeman, soldier, armed man or even adult was with those girls that night except for one elderly gateman who was unarmed.

“The governor failed to keep his promise. He betrayed those girls; he let down Borno State and he let down Nigeria. Instead of him, begging God for forgiveness, working hard for the return of those girls and to assist in finding them, all that he does is to hurl insults at us.”

The organisation said it did not come to it as a surprise because “that is the style and the way of the APC for you. They are a party of failed propagandists, liars, slanderers and deceitful men. We lose no sleep about what Kashim Shettima and his party feel about us because that feeling is mutual. Whatever they feel about us, we feel exactly the same about them. They do not like us and we do not like them.”

culled from: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/