War
COAS reiterates troops commitment to annihilate Boko Haram
Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, has reiterated Nigerian troops commitment to ensure that Boko Haram terrorists are completely eliminated from Borno, Yobe , Northeast and the country in general . Attahiru stated this on Monday in Maiduguri while inspecting the second phase of large cache of weapons recovered from the Boko Haram terrorists by troops of Operation Lafiya Dole in various encounters with the insurgents in northern part of Borno state and fringes of Lakechad. The Army Boss who is on one week operational visit to the Theatre of Operation Lafiya Dole , had yesterday inspected another sets of heavy weapons recovered by the troops from the terrorists, which were displayed at the headquarters of 7 Division Nigerian Army, before later display of another sets of recovered...
Benue governor says no more amnesty, negotiation with criminals
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, says his administration will no longer negotiate with or grant amnesty to criminals under any guise in the state. Ortom stated this on Saturday in Anyiin, Logo Local Government Area of the state at the burial of Mr Terkura Suswam, the slain elder brother of former governor, Sen. Gabriel Suswam. Newsmen reports that Suswam was killed along with his aide, Mr Solomon Utanor on March 2, close to his residence in Anyiin. The governor condemned the crime rate in Logo, Ukum and Katsina-Ala, reiterating his determination to end all forms of criminalities in the state. “There is no more amnesty, no more negotiation with them, (criminals) except they come back like the prodigal son and plead for forgiveness,’’ he said. According to the governor, the State Security ...
Reps speaker urges Nigerians not to believe conspiracy theories about coronavirus vaccine
The speaker of the house of representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has advised Nigerians not to believe conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccines. Many Nigerians are wary about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine amid unverified claims that it contains microchips. Faisal Shuaib, chief executive officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), had recently dismissed the claims as false. The first shipment of the vaccines– 3.9 million doses– arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday and the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine was administered today. Speaking at the national flag-off ceremony for the COVID-19 vaccination in Abuja, Gbajabiamila urged Nigerians to rally behind the federal government to fight the pandemic. He also cautioned against playing politics with the vaccinati...
Nigerian Army dismisses report of desertion by troops
The Nigerian Army on Thursday dismissed reports that over 100 officers and soldiers had deserted the army during encounters with insurgents in parts of Borno recently. The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Yerima, said this in a statement in Abuja. Yerima said that a section of the media had reported that over a hundred troops absconded after Boko Haram attacks on Marte and Dikwa. According to him, this publication is false, unfounded and an attempt to malign the image and character of the Nigerian Army. “For the records, in the fog of war, it is a routine that head count is conducted to determine the number of men and equipment holding aftermath of military offensive. “Unfortunately, an internal correspondence that was originated by the formation was not properly done. ...
Charles Udeogaranya: Ndigbo Republic may emerge if South-East fails to produce president in 2023
A Presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in 2019, Chief Charles Udeogaranya, has said that the way things are going in Nigeria, Ndigbo Republic may emerge instead of Biafra. According to him, “if after 50 years of Nigeria/Biafra civil war and political power brokers do not find it expediently urgent to close this monumental gap of inequality by giving a sense of belonging to the South-East region of Nigeria, then Ndigbo Republic (NR) is inevitable and I will lead the struggle of its actualisation.” Udeogaranya said that Ndigbo remains more Nigerian than any other Nigerian ethnic group and will always play their big brother role of pan-Africanism. Ndigbo, he said wants the best for the Yoruba nation, Hausa nation, Fulani nation, Ijaw nation and every other nationality ...
Former NAF chief Nsikak Eduok laid to rest in Akwa Ibom
It was a harvest of tributes for a former Chief of Air Staff, late Air Marshall Nsikak Eduok as his remains were laid to rest in his hometown in Ibesikpo Asutan, Akwa Ibom state on Saturday. Chief of Air Staff, Oladayo Amao who spoke at the Ibom Hall grounds Uyo during the funeral service conducted by United Evangelical Church, Founded as Qua Iboe Church, described late AM Eduok as a man of valour, integrity and a great achiever with unprecedented strive for success. Based on these sterling attributes, the Force has decided to immortalise him by naming Ultrafit Gymnasium center at the Nigerian Air Force Base Yola after him. According to him, late Eduok was one of the best hands the force had, one who changed the landscape of the service and was mentor to many retired and serving officers. ...
Senator Saraki moves to reconcile Ayo Fayose, Seyi Makinde
Ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki, is brokering peace between former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose and Governor of Oyo State Seyi Makinde. Fayose and Makinde have been on a warpath for quite some time now. Fayose insists that Makinde shouldn’t be carrying himself as leader of the PDP in the southwest because he’s the only PDP governor in the region. Fayose has also warned Makinde that he’ll work against his re-election in 2023 if he doesn’t stop disrespecting him. “When Makinde was to contest, I was the one that presented the flag to him and a red pen. It is a higher authority that hangs your rank, a senior officer hangs the rank of a junior officer, that means he saw me as a leader at the time I was giving him the flag at Ogbomoso,” Fayose said recently, adding that Makinde was ...
Sheikh Gumi: Fulani herdsmen were pushed into criminality
Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has maintained his position that some Fulani herdsmen were forced into criminality because they were victims of cattle rustling. Sheikh Gumi restated his position during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday. Sheikh Gumi said: “When I listened to them, I found out that it is a simple case of criminality which turned into banditry, which turned into ethnic war, and some genocide too behind the scene; people don’t know.” The cleric said that while “there is no excuse for any crime; nothing can justify crime, and they are committing crime,” the bandits were forced into criminality. “I think it is a population that is pushed by circumstances into criminality,” he said. “And this is what we should look, let’s remove the pressure, let’s...
Sheikh Gumi: Fulani herdsmen were pushed into criminality
Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has maintained his position that some Fulani herdsmen were forced into criminality because they were victims of cattle rustling. Sheikh Gumi restated his position during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday. Sheikh Gumi said: “When I listened to them, I found out that it is a simple case of criminality which turned into banditry, which turned into ethnic war, and some genocide too behind the scene; people don’t know.” The cleric said that while “there is no excuse for any crime; nothing can justify crime, and they are committing crime,” the bandits were forced into criminality. “I think it is a population that is pushed by circumstances into criminality,” he said. “And this is what we should look, let’s remove the pressure, let’s...
U.S. to de-link Ethiopian aid pause from dam policy
The U.S. State Department on Friday said Washington will de-link its pause on some aid to Ethiopia from its policy on the giant Blue Nile hydropower dam that sparked a long-running dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that President Joe Biden’s administration will review U.S. policy on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and will assess the role the administration can play in facilitating a solution between the countries. A bitter dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the filling and operation of the dam remains unresolved even after the reservoir behind the dam began filling in July. “We continue to support collaborative and constructive efforts by Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to reach an agreement on the GERD,” P...
Asiwaju Tinubu: How Lateef Jakande rejected calls to contest for president
National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has recounted how late first civilian Governor of Lagos State, Lateef Jakande rejected calls to contest for the president in Nigeria. Tinubu revealed this on Friday during the eight-day Fidau prayer for Jakande in Ilupeju area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria. He said Lagos State was luck to have a man like Jakande and that those in government had been extremely lucky to draw from his fountain of knowledge. ”To all of us in Lagos, we have been extremely lucky to have him, extremely lucky to draw from the fountain of his knowledge, Nigeria equally is lucky but when the crisis of military and many other arose, we met him, we said, we want Jakande but he said, he was no longer interested in becoming the president in the mi...
How ICPC is combating corruption in MDAs, stopped diversion of N189 billion personnel cost
File Photo In the past few years, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other-Related Offences Commission, as part of its statutory mandate, has been conducting systems study and review of ministries and organisations in the federal public service. The overall objective of a system review is reform of the systems and procedures of public agencies with a view to identifying and eliminating, preventing, blocking and obstructing opportunities for corruption. To achieve this, the exercise targets detecting areas of vulnerabilities, actual weaknesses, leakages and corruption risks and to recommend ways of strengthening these systems and removing the discretionary gaps and such opportunities for both individual and institutional malfeasance on public resources. In addition, the review also targe...
