The federal government Tuesday set up a 12-member committee to unravel the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the 110 schoolgirls from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi, Yobe State, by Boko Haram terrorists.

It also released the names and other details of the girls. The list showed that the youngest student taken forcibly from the school is 11 years old, while the oldest is 19.

The list was contained in a statement issued Tuesday in Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The minister has twice led a federal government delegation to Yobe since the tragic incident occurred.

The list, which was handed over to the minister by the Yobe State Government, contained the names, ages and classes of each of the 110 students.

According to the statement, of the 110 missing girls, eight were in JSS1 (Junior Secondary School 1), 17 in JSS2, 12 in JSS3, 40 in SS1 (Senior Secondary School 1), 19 in SS2 and 14 in SS3.

The list, which also contained the contact addresses and phone numbers of each missing girl, was verified by a 26-member Screening Committee that included the Executive Secretary, Yobe State Teaching Service Board, Mr. Musa Abdulsalam; Director, Schools’ Management, Ministry of Education, Mr. Shuaibu Bulama; the Principal of GGSTC, Adama Abdulkarim; the two Vice-Principals, Ali Musa Mabu and Abdullahi Sule Lampo; Admission Officer, Mr. Bashir Ali Yerima; and the Form Masters for all the classes.

Also on Tuesday, the federal government set up a 12-member panel to unravel the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the girls.

Mohammed said the committee was convened by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd).

He said: “The committee, which will be chaired by a military officer of the rank of Major-General, comprises one senior provost each from the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force; representatives of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), two representatives of the Yobe State Government, and a representative of the Office of the NSA.”

According to the minister, the terms of reference of the committee include ascertaining the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the girls, confirming the presence, composition, scale and disposition of security emplaced in Dapchi as well as in GGSTC before the incident and suggesting measures that could lead to the location and rescue of the girls.

The panel, which is expected to submit its report by March 15, 2018, is also saddled with recommending measures to prevent future occurrence.

The committee will be inaugurated on Wednesday, Mohammed added.

He also disclosed that the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Tuesday relocated to Yobe State to personally superintend the search for the girls.

The minister said the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had earlier deployed more platforms to the North-east for the search, even as the security agencies ramped up efforts to locate and rescue the girls.

“As at 6 p.m. on Monday, the NAF had flown a total of 200 hours while conducting the search,” the minister said.