Despite reports that President Muhammadu Buhari was briefed on the abduction of over 300 schoolboys from Kankara town in Katsina State on Friday, his Spokesman, Garba Shehu, insisted that the president was not aware of the incident.
According to a source, the president was informed about the abduction of the schoolboys but due to dementia, he decided to visit his farm instead of the school where the tragedy happened.
“The moment it happened on Friday night, President Buhari was told. But due to dementia, he had forgotten,” the source told SaharaReporters.
When the video of the President visiting his farm surfaced on Monday, the President’s spokesperson, Shehu, had argued vehemently that the President was not aware as of Saturday morning when he went to his farm.
“We arrived on Friday evening in Daura. The President went to his farm at 6 am or thereabouts when the report had not broken out. So, for anyone to now say he has chosen to visit his cows, instead of the parents of the students, is mischief.
“Let me tell you; we are careful about one thing. We don’t want politics to divert attention from rescuing these boys. So all these ‘touts’, we will ignore them because the focus is on rescuing these boys. By God’s grace, they will be freed, and when they are back with their families, we will engage in politics,” Shehu had argued.
He did not, however, disclose whether Buhari had plans to visit Kankara or not.
On Sunday, he also claimed that only ten students were with the bandits.
While speaking with the BBC Hausa Service, he had claimed that only ten children were in the captivity of the gunmen, according to their colleagues who escaped from the gunmen.
The number is below figures released by the school authority at the beginning.
Shehu had said his figure was based on the information he got from the school children who escaped from their abductors.
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