The West African Examinations Council has put the blame for the kidnap of over 200 students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, on the Borno state government.

The examination body said the authorities in Borno refused to respond to its call, well before the commencement of the exams, to relocate candidates for this year’s SSCE to the state capital and other safe locations, where security agents would keep an eye on them, while they wrote their exams.

Disclosing this on Friday, Head of WAEC’s National Office, Charles Eguridu, who joined First Lady Patience Jonathan in a meeting with wives of state governors over the Chibok case, said 530 candidates were registered at the school for this year’s SSCE, 135 male, 396 female.

Eguridu told the women that WAEC was not aware, that the state government had converted the Chibok school to a mixed school, as the school remains an all-girls school on WAEC’s records.

He said WAEC had made the request to relocate candidates to safe locations in early March, in a letter to the governments of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.
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He explained that the request was made because of the fears raised by the staff of WAEC who lost three of their colleagues last year while travelling with answer scripts from Maiduguri to Yola.‎

Eguridu said regrettably, none of the three state governments under emergency rule responded to the request.
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“When we made that representation (letter) to the three affected states, none of them responded to the honourable minister’s request.

“We followed it up and I directed my zonal coordinator in Borno state in particular, to liaise with the Ministry of Education in Borno State and the response we got was so disheartening.

“We were told that they had security in place for the candidates and that we should come and conduct the examination in the schools and that they were not ready to relocate their students from Chibok and other areas to Maiduguri or nearby locations where security agencies could provide security.

“They said if we failed to conduct the examinations, the world would blame us. And so at great risk, my officers went to Chibok and conducted the examinations.

“After the unfortunate incident in which the students were said to have been abducted, our staff now got a response from the state that they were then ready to relocate the remaining students to another place called Uba.

“And as I speak, 189 candidates are continuing with the examination in Uba,” Eguridu told the First Lady and her guests, with the women expressing shock and disbelief at the story.‎

WAEC’s letter to the three state governments, which Eguridu read to the women states as follaws: “Your Excellency, Security challenges and the conduct of the 2014 WASC, SSCE in Borno, Yobe and parts of Adamawa States.

“In view of the current security challenges in the North East states of the country, the West African Examination Council has expressed concerns over the safety of their officers who will be deployed to supervise the conduct of the 2014 diet of the examination in your state.

“In response to these concerns, I have directed that the candidates in the federal unity schools be assembled in the respective state capitals where they are to sit for the examination in safe location.

“You are please enjoined to make contingency arrangements for candidates for public and private schools in your state to sit for the examination in safe locations.

“Details of your arrangements should be forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Education and the examination body for their information and necessary action. Please accept the assurances of my highest regards.”‎

Mrs. Jonathan following the revelations has vowed to lead a protest in Chibok, Borno state, if the abducted school girls were not released.

‎She expressed concern and frustration over the security situation in the country, particularly the abduction of school girls in Chibok. ‎

While adjourning the meeting to 4 pm on Sunday 4th May, Mrs. Jonathan summoned some individuals whom she believes would assist in unravelling the circumstances that led to the abduction of the girls and their whereabouts.

Those summoned include the Borno State Commissioner of Police, the state Commissioner for Education, the chairman of the local government, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Chibok, the wife of the village head, the school principal and the school gateman.

Others are, at least two teachers from the school, the chairman and secretary of the school’s Parent/Teacher Association, two house mistresses, two parents of missing children, as well as two parents whose children had returned home.

Mrs. Jonathan said if the schoolgirls were not found by Sunday, she would not hesitate to lead women on a protest match to Maiduguri to demand for their whereabouts from the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima.

“By Sunday, we must have our children. If not, we will match to Borno and ask the governor to give us our children. We will match to National Assembly to see the Senate President and will also match to see the President,” she said.

She also announced the composition of a committee saddled with the task of ensuring that those summoned attend the Sunday meeting.

The committee which she said would be chaired by the wife of the Borno State governor, who was absent at the meeting, has other members which include the wife of the Senator and member of the House of Representatives from the affected constituency, wife of the Minister from Borno State and wife of the chairman of the affected local government area as members

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