According to the Defence Headquarters, in the past two weeks, Nigerian troops have killed 46 terrorists, bandits, and other criminals throughout the North East, North Central, and North West.

This was said by Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami, Director of Defence Media Operations, on Thursday in Abuja during the twice-weekly news conference on military activities.

Danmadami claimed that during that time, the army also detained more than 50 terrorists and other criminals and freed 97 kidnapped people.

In the North East, Danmadami said the troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) had sustained and continued to dominate the theatre of operation with commendable successes.

He said the troops had within the weeks in focus, neutralised 18 Boko Haram/Islamic State of West Africa Province terrorists, arrested six logistics suppliers and rescued 119 abducted civilians.

He added that a total of 1,506 terrorists and members of their families comprising 154 adult males, 514 adult females and 838 children, surrendered to troops at different location within the theatre of operation.

According to him, troops also recovered 16 AK 47 rifles, one 60mm mortar bomb, 10 dane guns, 12 dummy rifles, 280 rounds of 7.62mm special, 118 rounds of 7.62 x 50mm NATO, 13 rounds of 5.56mm ammo and 10 rounds of 7.62 x 54 mm NATO ammo.

“Also recovered are one round of 12.7mm NATO, 17 AK47 magazines, one firing pin, one mechanic tools box, two knives, six motorcycles, 24 mobile phones, 41 livestocks, assorted food items, one vehicle, four sim and other sundry items as well as the cash sum of N2.2 million.

“All recovered items, rescued civilians and apprehended suspects have been handed over to the appropriate authority for further action, while surrendered terrorists and members of their families are been profiled for further action,” he said.

Danmadami said the air component of Operation Hadin Kai conducted several air interdiction operations against terrorists enclaves and logistics in support of ground operations during the period.

He said that several air interdictions operations were carried out in some forest in Borno and Yobe where several terrorists were neutralised in the airstrikes.

According to him, the ground forces on mop up operations, recovered one gun truck, three AK 47 rifles, one PKM gun, one PKM metal link with 19 rounds, two Improvised Explosive Devices, 129 rounds of 7.62mm (39mm) ammunition, 60 solar panels among others.

Danmadami added that two terrorists logistic depots were destroyed.

In North Central, the defence spokesman said troops of Operation Safe Haven and Whirl Stroke, apprehended 28 bandits, criminals and political thugs during the March 18 election across the zone.

He added that a total of eight bandits were eliminated in different operations while five kidnapped victims were rescued.

Danmadami said the troops had on March 12, apprehended two suspected kidnappers while attempting to collect ransom at Gegu-Beki village in Kogi Local Government Area, Kogi

According to him, preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect was sent to collect the sum of N2 million.

Danmadami said the troops of Operation Whirl Stroke, between March 16 and March 22 neutralised eight terrorists, recovered arms and ammunition, rescued five kidnapped civilians and arrested seven other criminals in Benue.

“In another development, troops conducted fighting patrol to Independence National Electoral Commission office in Ilorin-West Local Government Area of Kwara on March 18 and intercepted some armed thugs.

“Troops search the area where the thugs were seen and recovered two pump action guns, four locally made dane guns, two machetes, four mobile phones and one vehicle, as well as arrested six thugs,” he said.

The troops of Operations Hadarin Daji, according to Danmadami, neutralized 14 terrorists in the North West during that time, detained 12 logistics suppliers, and freed 16 kidnapped civilians.

He continued by saying that a sizable cache of weapons, hard narcotics, a variety of food items, and N9,670 were all found by the army.

According to him, all recovered items, arrested suspects and rescued civilians have been handed over to relevant authority for further action. (NAN)

In certain areas of the states of Abia and Enugu, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has halted further results collation for the governorship election.

Festus Okoye, National Commissioner of INEC in charge of the Information and Voter Education Committee, made this disclosure in a statement released on Monday in Abuja.

He claims that the Commission met earlier on Monday to discuss the results of the nationwide elections for governor and state assembly that were held on March 18, 2023, on Saturday.

“Arising from the meeting, the Commission took the decision to suspend forthwith further collation of the Governorship election results in some parts of Abia and Enugu States”, he stated.

INEC recalled how its office in Obingwa Local Government Area was invaded by thugs Sunday 19th March 2023 and its officials held hostage in relation to the collation of results from the Local Government Area. It had consequently vowed to thoroughly review results from the area.

“Similarly, reports from Enugu State call for a review of the results for the Governorship election from the two outstanding Local Government Areas of Nsukka and Nkanu East.

“Consequently, the Commission hereby suspends the collation of results in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State and the two outstanding Local Government Areas of Enugu State which are yet to be collated. A review will be undertaken immediately before the process is concluded.

“We appeal for the understanding and patience of voters, parties and candidates in the affected States”, the commission added.

Goodluck Jonathan, a former president, advised politicians who came in second in the presidential and National Assembly elections as well as those who might not be successful in their goals in the upcoming governorship and state assembly elections to think about starting a business or pursuing other interests.

The former President also described how, having never wished to serve in that position, he nearly cried after being chosen as Vice President in the 2007 presidential election.

In case you forgot, Jonathan was late President Musa Yar’Adua’s running partner. The two of them succeeded former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar. After Yar’Adua passed away in May 2010, Jonathan took over as president.

He advised politicians to conduct themselves peacefully during and after the 2023 elections.

Jonathan stated this when he paid a condolence visit to governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State over the death of his father at Sampou Community in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state.

“As a leader in the country who had the privilege of serving at the state level and national level, I can only advise that politics is not about that you must be there. If God wants you to be there, you will be there. If it is not yet your turn to be there, you will not be there. When I became a vice president I almost cried, I never wanted to, but that was my destiny and I had to move.

“So, I advise people who are interested in these offices and their supporters to conduct themselves very well. They want to serve us, not to serve themselves.

“I always tell people that if you are so ambitious, then go into business. If you want to be in the state assembly and people don’t want you, fine, go and sleep. You want to be a governor and people don’t want you, go and sleep or do business.

“But if you want to serve us as people then you must be humble and you will not kill us before you serve us. So, people must conduct themselves peacefully and if God wants them to win their elections, they will win their elections,” Jonathan said.

Before the 2007 general elections, Jonathan, who was the Governor of Bayelsa State, was chosen as Yar’Adua as running mate in the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They won the election and he served as the Vice President for three years before the passing of Yar’Adua.

Following the death of Yar-Adua, Jonathan became the President and completed the tenure. He contested the 2011 election and was elected to serve for another four years. He, however, lost his reelection to Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.

Police Command Bauchi state has declared Rep Yakubu Shehu wanted and placed a bounty of N1m on him.

Shehu was running for the PRP to represent the federal constituency of Bauchi, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), but then switched to the APC.

This is contained in the Special Police Gazette Bulletin CB: 2685/Bsx/VOL.T/4s distributed by the Bauchi State Police Command spokesperson, SP Ahmed Wakil, on Tuesday in Bauchi.

The bulletin said the Nigeria Police Force, under the authority of the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, had declared the member, Yakubu Abdullahi Shehu wanted.

He is wanted “in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy, causing grievous hurt, inciting disturbances of public peace and culpable homicide.

“The police are seeking anyone with valid information that will lead to his arrest for interrogation and arraignment on criminal charges.

“Anyone with information that could assist in his arrest should please contact 08151849417 or report at any nearest police station”.

It said the security agency  asked anyone with useful information about his whereabouts to contact them, promising a N1m as a bounty on the lawmaker.(NAN) 

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and the Nigerian Railway Corporation have placed the blame for a fatal train accident that occurred in the PWD area of the state on Thursday on the driver of a Lagos State Government worker vehicle. Six people were killed and 96 were injured.

At the PWD rail crossing, off the Lagos-Abeokuta Highway, a passenger train collided with a fully laden staff vehicle owned by the Lagos State Government, causing tragedy to strike in Lagos just before 8am on Thursday.

Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the Permanent Secretary of LASEMA, said to reporters that the bus driver disregarded the NRC officials’ signals because he was impatient to cross the rail.

Also, the NRC, in a statement by its Deputy Director Public Relations, Yakub Mahmood, said the bus failed to obey the instruction of the corporation officials as he overtook other vehicles waiting for the train to pass.

The Federal Government has ordered an investigation into the accident.

The ill-fated bus with registration no 04A- 48LA was navigating its way to connect the Government Residential Area, Ikeja en route to the state secretariat, Alausa, when it collided with the train at the PWD rail crossing.

The bus was said to be coming from Isolo while the train was heading to Ido from Ijoko, Ogun State.

According to eyewitnesses, the train dragged the bus on its rail for about 100 metres from PWD to Sogunle before getting stuck.

Some panic-stricken passengers of the bus, especially those close to the exit doors, reportedly made frantic efforts to jump off the bus being dragged by the train.

By the time the train and the bus finally stopped on the rail, the bus passengers fell upon one another in their attempts to find their way out of the trapped vehicle.

Two passengers were said to have died on the spot while others sustained various degrees of injuries.

Rescue workers who were mobilised to the scene evacuated the victims and rushed them to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

Chief Aribogha Johnny, a key politician in the Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State and the Koromotiemowei of the Ogbe Ijoh Warri Kingdom, officially defected to the All Progressives Congress on Wednesday.

A few hours after the Independent National Election Commission announced that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC had won the 2023 presidential election, Johnny and his supporters defected.

The former PDP chieftain said in a signed statement that his “decision came not just as a result of the outcome of the just concluded presidential election, but as a result of the level of marginalisation and disregard he has faced in the Peoples Democratic Party for many years.”

According to him, his political allegiance had been with the PDP until the party leadership started treating him like a “low class member” despite his contributions to the successes recorded in the party at the state level in the past years.

“As such, I have decided to move to a party where my efforts in the politics of the state and beyond will be recognised and appreciated,” he stated.

While welcoming Johnny and his supporters, the APC leadership in Delta, led by the Director General of the party’s governorship campaign council, Elder Godsday Orubebe and Chief Bosin Ebikeme, the director of the party’s contact and mobilisation campaign council, expressed joy in receiving the former PDP chieftain, noting that his decision was in the right direction.

They remarked that the Delta APC would regard him as a bonafide member who will also be part of the party’s decision making process.

At the GSS polling place in Ofoni, the hometown of the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, in the Sagbama Local Government Area, the voting process was interrupted due to chaos brought on by gunshots that were allegedly fired by some disgruntled youths.

Despite their non-critical circumstances, two women were reported to have suffered bullet wounds.

However, it was reported that a mob had arrested two of the three angry adolescents and turned them over to security personnel.

But voting resumed after normalcy was restored and Ewhrudjakpo cast his vote at his unit of Ward 2, Unit 6, in Ofoni at about 10 am.

He advised the electorate to be peaceful and orderly as a credible process would put the nation and state in good standing for better development.

The Ekiti State Government has asked to be added as a co-plaintiff in a Supreme Court lawsuit brought against the Federal Government over the Central Bank of Nigeria’s deadline for exchanging old notes for new ones and its currency redesign strategy.

Dayo Apata, SAN, the state’s attorney general and commissioner for justice, submitted a joinder request to the supreme court on Friday, asking for three reliefs.

The Attorney General of the Federation is the defendant in the lawsuit against the CBN’s naira redesign policy and the deadline for exchanging old currency notes, which was brought by the attorneys general of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states, who are the plaintiffs in the case with the case number SC/CV/162/2023.

The Ekiti State AG, is in the application “seeking leave of this honourable court (Supreme Court) to join the Applicants as a Co-Plaintiff in this suit; an Order of this Court joining Attorney General of Ekiti State as a co-Plaintiff in this suit; and for such order or further order that this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in this circumstance of this suit”.

Apata had premised the application on grounds including “acute shortage in the supply of naira notes in Ekiti State since the announcement of the policy by the Federal Government through the CBN.”

The state government also averred that “the directive of the Federal Government of Nigeria had affected the livelihood and had inflicted excruciating pain and hardship on all Nigerians, including citizens of Ekiti State.”

It also averred “that the directive of the FG has also adversely affected the revenue, levies and taxes accruable to the coffers of Ekiti State Government as economic activities in the state are now completely paralysed.”

The state government said, “The directive of the FG on the naira redesign has also created palpable anxiety among the citizens of Ekiti.”

It stated, “Ekiti is a federating state of Nigeria and therefore has an interest in the determination of the Originating Summons in the suit earlier filed by the three states in the federation,” adding that “having a common interest as other plaintiffs and also in the outcome of the suit, sought the leave of the Court to be joined as a co-plaintiff in order to be bound by the outcome of the suit.”

Additionally, it was claimed that joining as a co-plaintiff to air the complaints of Ekiti State would not cause any of the parties on record any injustice or humiliation.

The state government defended its application with the claim that the supreme court has always held that anyone whose attendance is essential to a lawsuit must be made a party to the proceedings.

Yakubu Dogara, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has been referred to as a “political prostitute” by Festus Keyamo, the spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.

The declaration was made by Keyamo on Sunday in a post on his verified Twitter account.

Keyamo, the state’s minister of labor and employment, was responding to a message that Dogara had earlier posted on his Twitter account.

Dogara had referred to President Muhammadu Buhari’s endorsement of  the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, at a campaign in Nasarawa State as a satire.

However, Keyamo took to his Twitter handle calling out Dogara as a wanderer and back-stabber.

He wrote, “My brother and law school mate, @YakubDogara, this tweet is beneath you. You are actually pained by the support of PMB for @officialABAT, two leaders who have stayed true to their beliefs and causes, unlike the political prostitute, wanderer and back-stabber that you’ve always been.”

Tolu Bankole, a member of the APC’s National Working Committee, hailed Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the party’s presidential candidate, on Friday as a patriot who cares about the general welfare of the populace.

Bankole, who made this known in an announcement in Abuja, claimed that Tinubu’s worry about the ongoing fuel crisis and the limited supply of fresh naira notes painted a picture of him as someone who was not in a rush to become president.

“The robust stance voiced by our party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is a statement of devotion to a better Nigeria and her boundless possibilities,” the disability rights champion added.

“True patriotism implies a deep love for one’s country that not only desires the best for one’s fellow countrymen but also demands that the country should pursue its aims with honesty and empathy.

“He has displayed an ineffable love unequalled in the political history of the world. Asiwaju chose to empathise with the masses that have been subjected to untold hardship.

“The easier option by most party faithful would be to say yes or maintain silence to all government programmes no matter how discomforting for political correctness.

“The ability to confront and speak out against some policies of the government considered to be ‘anti-masses’ by Asiwaju should be applauded by all. Selflessness is exhibited at the most critical moment. Tinubu is not desperate to be President.

According to him, Tinubu’s action at “this critical stage of our political experience” was a clear testimony of his unparalleled leadership.

“This demonstration of pure heart, love for Nigerians, and commitment to improving welfare and well-being of all Nigerians will drive his Renewed Hope agenda to tame insecurity; tackle unemployment, and turn the economy around for shared prosperity,” he added.