This day, April 14, makes it nine years since the abduction of school girls from Chibok, a hitherto unknown rural town in Borno State, but now a global name.

As the world marks the 9th year anniversary of the Chibok girls’ abduction, 96 of the 276 abducted girls remain unaccounted for.

The update is courtesy of #Bringbackourgirls, the global campaign that has done much to draw attention to that infamous act of the Boko Haram insurgents nine years ago.

On April 14, 2014, the Boko Haram terrorists abducted 276 girls from the dormitory of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok.

They had rushed in on motorcycles and bicycles and began to open fire on residents of the village.

They created widespread panic, burnt down houses and destroyed other valuable assets, and then seizing the girls from the boarding school.

The armed marauders loaded the girls into trucks bound for their dens perceivably in the expansive Sambisa forest.

Fifty-seven girls managed to escape by jumping out of the moving trucks.

The rest were moved into the infamous dens of the notorious terrorists where they were forced into marriage.

The girls who were mostly Christians were forced into Islam.

The Chibok abduction, which till date remains Boko Haram’s most reported act, was what brought the terrorist group to global infamy.

Although they had been well known in Nigeria previously for their terrorist attacks, they attracted less global attention.

Boko Haram leader at the time, Abubakar Shekau, had admitted to the abduction of the girls, claiming that it was a reaction to the imprisonment of Boko Haram members by the Nigerian government.

The girls, who were mere teenagers, being mostly less than 18 years old, were promptly paired as wives to members of the Boko Haram sect, in the sect’s belief that no girl is too young for marriage.

Boko Haram had been in existence 12 years before the Chibok attack, after it was founded in 2002 by a Muslim scholar, Mohammed Yusuf.

Their first known act of violence was in 2003, when they attacked multiple police stations, killing police officers and stealing weapons.

In retrospect, it could be rightly said that the Chibok abductions furthered the sect’s core cause of discouraging western education, as it was bound to discourage many school-age children from the school environment.

The name Boko Haram, a mix of Arabic and Hausa languages, translates to ‘Western education is forbidden,’ and the sect was generally fighting to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state and stop anything, including education and the Christian religion, that they consider to have Western content or influence.

As Boko Haram gathered steam, in 2009, Mohammed Yusuf was captured and killed by the Nigerian military.

His death apparently created a catalyst that spurred the group into more violence, trying in many instances and succeeding in some of them at overthrowing certain levels of government.

At a time, especially between 2014 and 2015, the sect seized many local government areas around the principal states where it operated, namely Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

The abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls led to the coinage of the global rallying cry, ‘bring back our girls’, a quote taken from a speech that a former minister, Obiageli Ezekwesili made on TV.

It turned into a famous hashtag on social media, driving a movement for the return of the girls.

Global leaders supported the campaign, including former First Lady, Michelle Obama, who promised that the US government would help to find the missing girls.

In 2015, newly inaugurated President Muhammadu Buhari promised to rescue the hostages from Boko Haram but succeeded in the immediate time only in reclaiming territories that Boko Haram had captured in the previous years.

In 2016, one of the girls escaped and was found in the forest with her baby.

She said most of the other girls were still alive, the first indication since the abductions roughly two years earlier that the world could hope to have the girls back.

The Swiss government and the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, led negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram, following which in October 2016, 21 of the Chibok girls were released and in May 2017, another set of 82 were released in exchange for five Boko Haram suspects.

Today, however, 96 of the girls remain missing.

Two of the girls found their way out of captivity between last September and now.

In September 2022, the Nigerian Army announced that 98 Chibok schoolgirls of the 276 abducted by Boko Haram were still in captivity

The head of the Intelligence Unit of the Joint Military Taskforce in the North East, Operation Hadinkai, Colonel Obinna Ezuikpe had told newsmen, Out of the 276 abducted Chibok girls, 57 girls escaped in 2014, while 107 girls were released in 2018. Three girls were recovered in 2019, two in 2021 and nine were rescued in 2022, bringing the total to 178 girls out of captivity and 98 remaining in Boko Haram captivity.

As the world witnesses the 9th anniversary of the abductions, however, there is little hope about the remaining girls returning.

An activist in the frontline of activities around the terrorists, Malam Hamza Suleiman, who spoke on phone to DAILY POST Thursday morning, gave a number of reasons for this.

He said most of the girls were believed to have been moved from Nigeria to places around Lake Chad, and so were away from where interventions that facilitated earlier release of other Chibok girls could be perfected.

He said also that most of the remaining girls have gone so deeply into their life with the terrorists, having upwards of three children, adding that they were unlikely to embrace ‘freedom’ if they were offered.

According to Hamza, observers now have the fear that some of the girls may even have died, especially in the exchanges of fire that have often taken place between factions of the terrorists and government security agents.

He expressed the regret that attention to the remaining Chibok girls had decreased over time, reducing the likelihood of any more of the girls being prompted to return.

“Unlike the earlier years following the abductions, attention has radically shifted from the girls, such that until you called to ask for an update, I didn’t even remember that it’s nine years today.

He added that, “attacks have continued since the Chibok girls’ time; even depressingly so.”

The National Association of Emerging Artists (NAEA) has expressed displeasure with the promoters of the ‘Gangs of Lagos’ movie.

NAEA said it was disappointed with the portrayal of artists as “criminals” by the producer and director Kemi Akindoju and Jade Osiberu.

The group made this known in a statement recently released by its spokesperson, Unadey Jones.

The statement partly read, “Casting artists as criminals have harmed the pop cultural fabric of Nigeria and upholded harmful musician stereotypes.

The director cast singers Chike, Pasuma, and Zlatan Ibile in gangster roles in the movie.

Chike, particularly, played the role of Ify, aka Panamo, a rising artist who was involved in gangsterism and was eventually killed by his gang members to cover up a secret.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government has also described ‘Gangs of Lagos’ movie as a cultural misrepresentation.

The State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, frowned at the promoters of the movie for depicting the Eyo Masquerade as a gun-wielding villain while adorning the full traditional regalia.

Earlier, the Prince Uthman Shodipe-Dosunmu, the Apesinọla Ẹyọ Ọba Alakẹtẹ Pupa Ọkalaba Ẹkun, a cultural group, ordered the promoters of ‘Gangs of Lagos’ to withdraw the movie immediately, describing it as ethnic profiling, sacrilegious and outrageous trash.

The Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, has commenced wresting cargoes meant for Nigerian ports from neighbouring countries like Benin Republic, Togo, and Ghana.

NPA said with the inauguration of the Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos State and improved port efficiency, many cargoes have been pulled from the seaports of the neighbouring countries.

The Managing Director of NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko, made this public while interacting with journalists in Lagos.

On January 23, President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Lekki Deep Seaport, tagged the game changer.

However, Bello-Koko said: “I must say it is the first time a government will start construction of a port, finish and commission it before leaving office.

As you know, the Lekki Deep Seaport has been in the brain box for over 10 years; it is this administration that came in and gave all the necessary support through the Ministry of Transportation and NPA.

Disclosing that business has started in Lekki Deep Sea Port, the NPA boss disclosed that operations would be automated.

The NPA boss also accused importers of diverting cargoes meant for Nigerian ports to other countries’ seaports.

Princess Abiodun Oyefusi has called for the immediate resignation of the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The Labour Party, LP, Deputy gubernatorial candidate made the call after a building collapse in First Avenue, Banana Island.

In her reaction on Thursday, Oyefusi said the Wednesday incident in the highbrow Ikoyi was the latest in a series.

In November 2021, a 21-storey building under construction on Gerard Road caved in, killing the developer, Femi Osibona and dozens of workers.

The Coroner, Chief Magistrate O. A. Komolafe blamed government agencies, saying the structure’s density and setback on the site showed a gross violation of regulations.

In September 2021, a seven-storey building under construction on Oba Idowu Abiodun Road in Oniru collapsed, killing workers who passed the night.

Oyefusi said the incessant collapse was proof of government incompetence.

She decried the lack of constant monitoring of buildings despite the huge budget pegged for the Ministry of Physical Planning.

Governor Sanwo-Olu is incapable of effective policies within the construction industry that will tame this menace.

Oyefusi asserted, At this point, I am sure Lagosians are tired and the Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu should resign.

The politician said it is “shameful and unreasonable” for the authorities not to have the database of locations where work is ongoing.

Oyefusi charged residents to condemn the attitude of the All Progressives Congress, APC, administration which had caused deaths and injuries.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has denied allegations that he is working against his Deputy speaker, Idris Wase and eight others

Gbajabiamila in a tweet on Thursday insisted he has not endorsed any of the candidates battling for Speakership.

The paper reported that Gbajabiamila is supporting Kaduna Lawmaker, Tajudeen Abass for the position.

He tweeted, Today, April 13, 2023, a national daily carried a cover story in which it reported that I was against the aspiration of my deputy, Ahmed Idris Wase and some other aspirants to the office of Speaker in the 10th House. I have not declared support for any of my colleagues who have declared their interest.

He added that only the All Progressives Congress (APC) can decide the fate of the candidates through zoning.

The tweet read, I have made my position abundantly clear that there is a need to wait for the Party to complete its zoning exercise as I cannot work against my Party’s interest and position. I am a product of APC’s zoning in 2019, and I shall adhere to that any time the party comes up with its arrangement. Anyone/media peddling rumours of my endorsement of any of the aspirants should desist forthwith.

Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji has called on the Governing Council of three Higher Institutions in the state and their management to come up with a rescue agenda on how to reposition the Institutions.

The new councils inaugurated on Wednesday are Ekiti State University, EKSU, with Prof. Skin Oyebode, as Pro-Chancellor and Council Chairman, Bamidele Olumilia, University of Education, Science, Technology, Ikere-Ekiti, BOUESTI, headed by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, as Chancellor and Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, EKSUTH, with Dr. Adedamola Dada, as Council Chairman.

Oyebanji said the institutions must act rightly and cause a progressive change in the life of Institutions under their care.

Governor Oyebanji, made the remark in his speech at the government house chamber in Ado-Ekiti, saying they must work assiduously with the management and other stakeholders to end the precarious situation the Institutions find themselves in.

Forge a way forward on how to end academic instability, students restiveness, unpaid salaries, bureaucratic slackness that makes it impossible to get certificate and transcript ready on time and a whole lot of problems that continue to confront the development of the institutions

The Governor added that the schools are still faced with the challenge of meeting their emolument and overhead costs, just as institutional governance remains a big issue.

There have been too many instabilities in the academic calendar of the Institutions, especially EKSU, which has greatly eroded stakeholders’ confidence in its stability and competitiveness

I urge the council to work towards ensuring stability in the academic calendar and full accreditation of programmes

Governor Oyebanji said the council members and management must strive to be on top of the league in research, endowment and training of globally competitive students.

Responding on behalf of the three council members, Prof. Akin Oyebode, assured the Governor that they would all do their best to position the institutions where they are supposed to be to produce the best and the brightest.

Oyebode pledged their loyalty and commitment to their new assignment.