Yobe Students Massacre Death Roll Rise To 90

The death toll in the  Sunday   attack  by suspected Boko Haram members on the Yobe State  College of Agriculture, Guijba,  has increased from  50 to  90.

 A security  top source  made this known on Monday just as  the Amnesty International, the  Nigeria Labour Congress, the  All Progressives Congress, the Arewa Consultative Forum and     the  Jama’atu Nasril Islam flayed the incident as  ignoble, wicked and horrendous.

Sources said that the authorities of the school, while searching  the bushes around the school with local hunters and soldiers on Monday ,  recovered  28 more bodies.

 He added  that the search became necessary when the authorities conducted a headcount of the students that survived and discovered that some were still missing.

 Before  the source spoke,   an international human rights group, the Amnesty International,  had in a statement on Monday , quoted a Damaturu resident as having said that 62 bodies  were counted at the Sani Abacha General Hospital Mortuary, Damaturu.

“One resident of Damaturu said that on Sunday he counted 62 bodies at the Sani Abacha General Hospital mortuary in Damaturu, Yobe State,”AI said in a statement by its Africa Deputy Director, Lucy Freeman.

 The AI called on the government to adopt urgent measures to prevent further killing of students, especially  in the North-East.

 It  observed that the attack on educational institutions and students had increased since 2012 and should be brought to an end immediately.

 “Since 2012, we have seen an escalation of lethal attacks against students and schools. On top of the tragic loss of life, children are being prevented from accessing education.  It is high time for the authorities not only to investigate these deplorable incidents and take those responsible to justice but to take measures to prevent them,” the group added.

 The group  stated that the attacks on schools had become more vicious and brutal since the beginning of 2013 with the latest taking place when schools were in session.

 The AI  said  that Boko Haram, its affiliate organisations  and  individuals “in northern Nigeria must immediately stop all attacks on schools, students, teachers and pupils.”

 When contacted, the Director of Defence Information, Brig.- Gen Chris Olukolade, said,   “I have not got that report on the number of casualties so far.”

Efforts to get the comments of the Yobe State Director of Press, Abdullahi Bego, did not yield result  as calls to his two mobile phones did not go through.