For Nigerians who have been following the state of insecurity in Nigeria; attacks, looting and killing of innocent citizens is no more news. Such horrendous absurdities have continued to dominate the airwaves, newspapers and social media on a daily basis.
On Monday, 14th of April 2014, the media had massive reports of the exploit of these agents of chaos who have succeeded in turning Nigeria into a colony of anarchy.
Although the newspapers of that day were awash with reports of attacks by suspected herdsmen in Taraba and Benue and the accidents involving JAMB examination candidates in Zamfara, the exploits by suspected Boko Haram bombers in Nyanya in the Federal Capital Territory which resulted in the death of 71 people and more than a quarter of a thousand sustaining injuries and about 40 assorted vehicles burnt, could not have escaped the hard-hearted.
However, the abduction of more than 100 female students of Senior Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State will forever remain indelible in the minds of Nigerians. The abduction followed a violent attack on the town by a group suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents. They arrived around 10 p.m. in a convoy of about seven Hilux vehicles and unleashed terror on the residents and set fire on residential and public buildings.
The all girls’ school, Chibok was a WAEC Examination Centre. Teachers and some of the students took to their heels on sighting the terrorists. Unfortunately, the students who remained in their dormitory met their misfortune as the invaders hauled them into an abandoned lorry before zooming into the Sambisa Forest. Up till this moment, nobody can tell what the plight of these innocent girls are apart from a daring few who escaped.
Even in times of war, the sanctity of women and children is sacrosanct and in most cases guaranteed. What is the reason for abducting these girls? This is unacceptable and should be condemned in its entirety.
The abduction of these girls is an abridgement of their right to move freely in their own country. Besides, no religion supports any action that brings violence against innocent people, especially women and children. As they did before with abducted women and girls, it is very likely that Boko Haram will turn the girls to domestic servants or sex slaves, if the government does not swiftly wade in to rescue them.
We call for the immediate release of these school girls. Every effort should be made by the government to free them without delay. The Borno state government has already announced a reward of N50million for anyone who has any useful information about the whereabouts of the abducted girls.
This is commendable but more should still be done. It is however disheartening that the federal government laid a false claim to a rescue operation that did not take place. It portrays them as ill-equipped technically and faulty on information management.
The military and the paramilitary services involved in the insurgency war in Borno and other flashpoints, such as Yobe and Adamawa, should re-strategise to achieve optimum results. They must realize that time is running out. It is shocking to note that despite the billions of Naira so far spent on the war against terror, Nigerians are yet to see tangible results. These teenagers must be rescued hale and hearty. It is the least that the government owes the parents of the girls and to Nigeria.
The ability of the terrorists to drive straight to the school to cause havoc is a sign that we have not learnt anything from the experiences of the past attacks and invasions. It shows there is still the near absence of intelligence gathering and detection of danger signals. Enough of the government’s lip service to the insurgency war. Only a successful rescue of the teenage girls, will sooth the pains of the girls’ parents and redeem the image of the military in their operations in the North east.
