Mamudo school attack: Yobe gov lauds FG over response

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI

GOVERNOR Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe State, has commended the Federal Government and the Defence Headquarters for the interest shown in the security of the state in promptly sending a high-powered fact finding team after weekend’s terrorist attack on Government Secondary School, Mamudo.

Speaking while receiving the Defence Headquarters fact-finding team in his office in Damaturu, the governor noted that the gesture was the first of its kind in response to a disaster in the state. He also declared that the Joint Task Force deployed in the state was doing its best in addressing the security challenges but expressed sadness that the incident at Mamudo was an unfortunate and painful disaster.

Governor Gaidam noted that schools in forested places would require extraordinary protection and called for appropriate strategies to tackle the peculiar reality of the security challenges in such localities.

He requested the military authorities to reconsider the issue of disconnection of GSM service in the state, as reconnection would help in passing information to security agencies, especially in the light of the current realities of the security situation. Geidam said his government realised the importance of peace, saying there was no alternative to peace.

Earlier, the leader of the DHQ team, Major General Obinali Ariahu, informed the governor that the team was in the state to assess the deployment of JTF troops as well as their requirements to carry out the task of forestalling any breach of security in the state. He conveyed the sympathy and condolences of the Chief of Defence Staff to the government and people of Yobe State on the loss of lives occasioned by the terrorist attacks on the school and other locations.