The Nigerian Army said it had rescued two additional girls from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, nine years after their abduction by Boko Haram. The Theatre Commander of Joint Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Ali said this while briefing journalists at the Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri. Ali said Hauwa Maltha and Esther Marcus were rescued on 21 April by troops of 114 Taskforce Battalion Bitta at Lagara, under the 21 Armoured Brigade Bama during operations. “Since their rescue, they have undergone thorough medical examination along with their babies and are adequately resuscitated and will be handed over to the Borno State Government for further administration,” Ali said. This brings the number of Chibok girls rescued recently to 14.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Market Operator (MO) have begun a massive disconnection of debtor Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCo) from the national grid, according to Punch. The MO, a division of the TCN, had informed some DisCos of the disconnection plan, due to failure to remit the ancillary services bills. Since the notice by MO, power supply has worsened across the country, with many areas complaining of low or no supply. Earlier in the year, Power Minister Abubakar Aliyu had negotiated a 60-day extension of the grace period to allow market defaulters to comply with the provisions of the Market Rules with respect to payment of their outstanding invoices, posting of adequate bank guarantees, and forwarding of their active Power Purchase Agreements to the MO/TCN.
Al Jazeera said it will not apologise to Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo over allegations in its recent investigative documentary, “Gold Mafia.” The international media organisation said it does not owe the president nor his office any apology since it did not allege the issues raised in the letter from Jubilee House demanding a retraction and apology. “Since the documentary did not actually allege what the president’s office has suggested it did, we will not be apologising or removing it from publication,” excerpts of the Al Jazeera response seen by Joy News said. The government’s letter claimed among other things, that the documentary made baseless claims that Akufo-Addo acted as a lawyer for Alistair Mathias and implied that he personally benefitted unlawfully from a $100 million state Infrastructure contract purportedly awarded to Mr. Mathias.
Kenya’s private sector activity fell in April as both the manufacturing and service sectors slowed, with inflation and political unrest leading to a drop in consumer demand and dampening the outlook, a survey showed on Thursday. The Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 47.2 from 49.2 in March. It is the third straight month the reading was below 50. “The cost-of-living crisis continued to hinder business performance, according to survey panellists, while an associated bout of political unrest led to a marked drop in client demand,” a text accompanying the survey said. On Tuesday, Kenya’s opposition resumed anti-government protests after a one-month pause over high living costs and alleged fraud in last year’s national election, which its leader, Raila Odinga, lost to President William Ruto.