Row Over Security Presence In Dapchi And Other Interesting Newspaper Headlines Today

There is a growing row over the withdrawal of Nigerian Army troops from Dapchi town in Yobe, Northeast Nigeria after the kidnap of more than 100 girls by the Boko Haram Insurgent group last week. While the Army says it has left the security of the area in the Hands of the Nigerian Police with the latter denying such.

Major National Newspapers like The PUNCH, Nigerian TRIBUNE, The NATION and VANGUARD report the story in different versions. NATION understands that the Army said it “formally” handed over security in Dapchi to the police as its men moved to another operation, but the police said there was no such handover.

According to the Nigerian TRIBUNE, the police in a statement by the state commissioner of Police, Sumonu Abdulmaliki, said the statement by the military of formal handing over of Dapchi town to the police division in Dapchi was untrue.

In another twist, parents of the abducted schoolgirls are giving a contrast figure apart from the one the Federal Government gave on Sunday. VANGUARD reports that the Chairman of the forum of the missing girls, Bashir Manzo, who said he was not aware of a meeting with stakeholders including Information Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed at the Government House in Damaturu, denied knowledge of the figure of 110 as announced by the minister.

The GUARDIAN reports that Some Residents of Kaduna were killed with houses burnt in fresh religious crisis between some Christian and Muslim Youths just as President Muhammadu Buhari admits that the war against Boko Haram is far from over yet. This according to DAILY INDEPENDENT was evident in the statement saying the rescue and release of the abducted UNIMAID lecturers and women was not easy as different groups were responsible for the incident.

The state of the economy is what is reported on the BUSINESS DAY with the headline Nigeria Narrowly Escapes Recession as Economy Expands 0.9%. It writes that the mean estimate of 12 economists polled in a Bussines Day Survey was a 2 percent growth in Q4, while a separate estimate points to full-year growth of 1 percent.