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DHQ Lambasts Reuters’ Attempt to Blackmail Nigerian Military over Boko Haram Families

Published

4 years ago

December 3, 2022

Efforts by Reuters to Blackmail the Nigerian Military Through Mercenary Journalism Fails

Reuters, an international news agency, now part of Thomson Reuters, wrote that it was working on a series of stories about purported actions of the Nigerian military during the government’s 13-year war against Islamist insurgents in the country’s North East. To them, they were committed to producing an accurate, fair and complete report hence, their request to arrange a time to discuss before their reporting. The supposed stories were purported to focus on 2 specific areas: First, supposed military-run programme of forced abortions performed on women and girls who were held captive and impregnated by Islamist militants and second, a supposed killing of children by the military as part of counterinsurgency operations.

The Reuters report was to also allege that, since 2013, Nigeria’s military had run a secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme in the country’s North East terminating at least 12,000 pregnancies among women and girls. That, many children were shot, poisoned, suffocated or run down by vehicles in army-led actions. Furthermore, the report was to allege that soldiers selected babies and toddlers for killing after rescuing them and their mothers from Islamist militants, amongst other weighty concocted allegations. The key motive for supposedly carrying out the abortions was allegedly the notion that the children of Islamist militants, because of the blood in their veins, would one day follow in their father’s footsteps and take up arm against the Nigerian Government and society.

Hmmm! Wickedness really runs in the veins of some people and it surely runs deep in the veins of the Reuters team that concocted such evil for interrogation. The fictitious series of stories actually constitute a body of insults on the Nigerian peoples and culture for, no people or culture in Nigeria practices such evil as dreamt up by the Reuters team. Irrespective of the security challenges we face as a nation, Nigerian peoples and cultures still cherish life. Hence, Nigerian military personnel have been raised, bred and further trained to protect lives, even at their own risk especially, when it concerns the lives of children, women and the elderly. This much is reflected in Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs), Concepts of Operations, Rules of Engagements (ROEs) and other documents that guide military operations. Hence, nowhere has the Nigerian military operated (Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, [Darfur] Sudan, Gambia and Guinea Bissau, amongst others) that, there has been any trace or allegation of infanticide. The Nigerian military will not therefore, contemplate such evil of running a systematic and illegal abortion programme anywhere and anytime, and surely not on our own soil. The Nigerian military will not also deliberately plan to target children during its counterinsurgency operations or other operations, both within and outside Nigeria.

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The Reuters team must have been schooled in, and have now become proponents of scorched-earth and inhuman policies employed by colonialists during the colonial era and during the battles for independence in Indo-China, Malaysia, Algeria and other places. Villages and crops were burnt. Children, women, elderly, the innocent were killed in systematic and inhuman programmes. Nigerians, and by extension Nigerian military, are not made in such wicked mould, and the Reuters team cannot appropriate the evil of infanticide to the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the Nigerian peoples.

But, let’s interrogate the issues. It took Reuters 13 solid years to craft an allegation of infanticide against the Nigerian military and the Nigerian nation. This shows that a news agency as ‘renown’ as Reuters is itself complicit for failing in its mandate to draw attention, to inform the publics about supposed occurrences that offend not only the laws of armed conflict but also international humanitarian law.

Let us analyze the period from July 2021 till November 2022. A total of 82,064 Boko Haram fighters with members of their families have surrendered to troops of Op HADIN KAI. Out of this number, 16,553 were active male fighters, 24,446 were women while 41,065 were children. The Borno State Government is camping and accommodating them family-by-family, as per households, without having to separate the children from their parents. In the same camp are thousands of pregnant women and nursing mothers. A total of 262 babies were born within a period of 4 months (94 in July, 98 in August, 60 in September and 11 in October 2022). This figure comprises 150 female and 112 male children. The children were neither aborted nor yanked from their mothers and killed, as may have been the joy of Reuters.

Let us now spotlight the rescued Chibok girls who were kidnapped from their school by Boko Haram Terrorists in 2014. A total of 11 of the Chibok girls were rescued this year 2022. Hauwa Joseph with her child, Mary Dauda with her child, and Ruth Bitrus were rescued in June 2022. Troops also rescued Kauna Luka with her child and Hanatu Musa with her 2 children in July 2022. In the same vein, Aisha Grema with her 4 year-old child and Falmata Lawal were rescued in August 2022. Furthermore, Asabe Ali with her child, Jinkai Yama with her 3 children, Yana Pogu with her 4 children and Rejoice Senki with her 2 children were rescued in September and November this year. The names of the rescued girls are in Serials 18, 46, 41, 38, 7, 11, 3, 12, 20, 19 and 70 respectively (in the order of rescue) in the list of the abducted Chibok School girls. The rescued girls were handed over to the Borno State government after their rescue.

A visit to the Rehabilitation Centre accommodating the Chibok girls on 29 November 2022 revealed that, there were 2 other Chibok girls (with their children) recued earlier, making the number of the Chibok girls in the Centre to be 13. Other residents in the facility were children who were rescued by troops unaccompanied (by any adult) or who separated from their parents/relatives due to fog of war. The welfare of the Chibok girls with their children and the unaccompanied children, is a major priority of the Borno State Government. UNICEF is assisting the Centre in tracing the relatives of the Chibok girls as well as those of the unaccompanied/separated children to facilitate reintegration with their communities. If there was any evil, illegal programme to systematically kill the children of Boko Haram terrorists, then the children that the terrorists begat through the Chibok girls would have been prime targets.

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The Joint Investigation Centre (JIC) is where captured terrorists (men and women) are being processed, to determine their level of complicity in the heinous crimes committed by the Boko Haram Terrorist group. There were 1,952 persons in the facility, which included 23 women with 11 children who remain attached to their mothers as at 30 November 2022. There is also a medical facility being run by the Centre in collaboration with medical staff of ICRC. The welfare of all the occupants at the JIC is thus highly prioritised, including basic education for the children, tailoring and hat-making skills acquisition for the adults as well as provision of recreational and sporting facilities for all the occupants.

Since July 2021 when the Boko Haram terrorists started surrendering with their families in droves, a community-based reintegration process is evolving, involving local traditional leaderships, town councils and family members. The process is made easier due to the fact that most of the surrendered terrorists were actually conscripted from their villages by the core terrorists, whose ranks have been degraded by more than 95 percent. Accordingly, a total of 4,933 recued civilians/surrendered persons (including 1,977 children, 1,423 women and 1,533 men) have been reintegrated with their communities from the camp housing the Chibok girls alone. The children were not taken from their parents and killed; unaccompanied ones were not also rounded up and killed.

A crucial point to note is the fact that, more than 245 United Nations agencies, International NGOs and local NGOs operate in the North East, who are active in the IDP camps and other concentrations of vulnerable peoples. They provide food, medical care and other services in collaboration with the Nigerian and Borno State Governments. But the wickedness of the Reuters team members must have blinded them, shutting them off from the humanitarian realities in the North East of Nigeria. UNICEF, Girl Child Concern, International Medical Corps, Save the Children International, Girl Effect, Concern For Women and Children Development Foundation, International Federation of Women Lawyers, Women and Children’s Right and Peace Building Awareness Initiative, Medicin Sans Frontiers (France, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain) as well as Centre for Protection of Women and Girls are some of the humanitarian organizations operating in the North East. These have direct responsibilities for the welfare of children and/or women in the crisis area. Could the humanitarian community operating in the North East of Nigeria be equally complicit in condoning or supporting infanticide as thought of by Reuters? Could the United Nations Secretary General have commended troops of OP HADIN KAI when he visited Maiduguri recently? Or, is he, himself also complicit for failure to address an organized infanticide in the North East, which exists only in the warped, wicked imagination of the Reuters team?

The history of the Nigerian military dates back to 1863, especially with respect to the Nigerian Army that conducts land operations either as a single Service or in joint operations with other Services or security agencies. So, what metamorphosed into the Nigerian military actually passed through several processes and experiences through the First and Second World Wars as well as a Nigerian Civil War. Contingents of the Nigerian military have also taken part in several UN or regional peace keeping or peace enforcement missions abroad, with honours as mentioned in previous paragraphs. To participate in such missions, Pre-Induction Training and In-Theatre Training are usually carried out vigorously. The protection of civilians especially women, children and the elderly, always formed a major plank of such training sessions.

Military training institutions in Nigeria also focus extensively on Laws of Armed Combat and International Humanitarian Law. Aside all these, Nigerians and the Nigerian military are lovers of children. Nigerian military personnel have thus constantly denied themselves ration, supplies, transport and medicine in order to cater for rescued civilians especially children, women and the elderly. The Nigerian military have grown in leaps and bounds in experience and stature in humanizing operations, even in the most confused and intense operational environment. Hence, it offends the pedigree of the Nigerian military, it offends the Nigerian culture, and it offends honour for Reuters to postulate that the Nigerian military had routinely carried out both small-scale and mass killings of children in its counter-insurgency/counter-terrorism efforts in the North-East of Nigeria.

The Reuters condemnable series of stories can only have arisen from a mentality of “media or Press-bullying”. Reuters is a media company with world-wide reach that sells news to print, electronic and online media outlets. The so-called News Editor for Sub-Saharan Africa, Alexandra Zavis, remains in South Africa and concoct evil lies to insult Nigerian peoples and cultures with allegations of infanticide purportedly being sponsored and carried out by the military and civilian leaderships in North East of Nigeria.

The Reuters’ series of stories are akin to telling the world that Nigerians still live on top of trees. It now seems that the new stock in trade for Reuters is, ‘mining’ and selling lies to demonize Nigerian military, Nigerian institutions and Nigerian leaderships. This new vocation of Reuters is worse than illegal arms trade, worse than hard-drug trafficking, and actually worse than terrorism. The so-called Reuters’ News Editor for Sub-Saharan Africa, Alexandra Zavis, should better retrace her steps, before the founder, Paul Julius Reuter, starts to regret the demonic journalism being practiced by the journalists that he left behind!

JIMMY AKPOR
Major General
Director Defence Information
2 December 2022

prnigeria

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FG Considers Tougher Age Limits for Social Media Use by Children

Published

16 minutes ago

June 5, 2026

Trends Admin

FG Considers Tougher Age Limits for Social Media Use by Children

LAGOS — The Federal Government has indicated support for stricter regulation of children’s access to social media platforms, following new survey findings showing strong public backing for tighter controls over minors’ online activity.

The position was made known at a national roundtable on child online protection held in Lagos, organised by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy in collaboration with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

The event brought together policymakers, digital rights experts, regulators and stakeholders to discuss online safety for children amid rising concerns over cyber risks and exposure to harmful content.

According to data presented at the event, a nationwide survey conducted by the ministry showed that 83.4 per cent of 585 respondents supported some form of regulation or restriction on children’s access to social media.

The survey, presented by Senior Special Adviser to the Minister, Kasim Sodangi, also revealed that 64.8 per cent of respondents supported direct regulation, while 18.6 per cent backed restrictions but preferred alternative age thresholds.

Findings further showed strong public support for raising the minimum age for social media use, with 64.5 per cent of respondents favouring an age limit of 16 or 17 years, higher than the widely used global benchmark of 13 years.

The ministry said nearly all respondents were Nigerians, suggesting the results reflect strong local concern over online child safety and digital exposure risks.

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The poll also highlighted widespread anxiety about children’s digital experiences, with more than 93 per cent of respondents expressing concern about risks faced by minors online. Of this figure, 69.2 per cent described their concern as extreme, while 24.3 per cent said they were highly concerned.

Exposure to harmful and inappropriate content was identified as the most pressing issue, with over 90 per cent of respondents flagging it as a major risk. Other concerns included cyberbullying, cyberstalking, online grooming, digital addiction and exploitation of minors.

The survey also pointed to a knowledge gap in digital safety awareness, with nearly three-quarters of respondents saying many parents and children are not sufficiently informed about cybercrime laws and consequences of online misconduct.

In addition, an overwhelming 97.6 per cent of respondents supported stronger responsibility for technology companies, urging social media platforms to adopt proactive measures to protect younger users from harm.

Speaking at the roundtable, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, said the rapid expansion of digital platforms has made it necessary for governments to strengthen safeguards for children in the digital space.

Tijani said while social media offers opportunities for learning, creativity and innovation, it also exposes minors to significant risks that must be addressed through structured regulation.

“The debate should focus on implementing age restrictions effectively rather than questioning the need for such safeguards,” he said, adding that Nigeria can leverage digital identity systems and platform verification tools to enforce age-based rules.

He stressed that challenges around enforcement should not prevent the introduction of protective measures, noting that parents, schools, technology firms and civil society must all play roles in ensuring safer online environments for children.

Also speaking, the National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, warned that children are increasingly vulnerable to online threats.

He listed risks such as cyberbullying, cyberstalking, exposure to harmful content and mental health challenges as major concerns in the digital space.

Olatunji emphasised that while internet access remains important for education and development, stronger safeguards are required to ensure that children are protected from abuse and exploitation online.

The Federal Government is expected to continue consultations with stakeholders, including telecom operators, technology companies, educators and civil society organisations, before arriving at a final policy direction on social media regulation for minors.

FG Considers Tougher Age Limits for Social Media Use by Children

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Couple Abducted in Kwara as Bandits Strike Twice in One Week

Published

1 hour ago

June 5, 2026

Trends Admin

Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo

Couple Abducted in Kwara as Bandits Strike Twice in One Week

Lafiagi, Kwara State – Barely 48 hours after armed bandits killed one person and kidnapped two women in a Fulani settlement, suspected gunmen again struck in Lafiagi, headquarters of Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, abducting a husband and wife in a midnight raid.

The latest incident occurred around 12 a.m. on Thursday, near the Provost Lodge area, where the armed men invaded a residence and took the couple to an unknown location, multiple community sources told reporters. A resident who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons confirmed the abduction, saying the victims are Fulani and well known in the area. “The gunmen came around 12 a.m. and abducted a Fulani man and his wife from their residence near the Provost Lodge. They took them away, and nobody knows where they have been taken. The victim is related to Wudere, the Fulani leader the attackers were looking for during the last attack. Many people believe the incidents may be connected,” the source said.

The Thursday abduction is directly linked to an earlier assault on Monday, June 1, 2026, in the Sodo/Sawmill area on the outskirts of Lafiagi. At about 8 p.m., a group of armed bandits stormed a Fulani settlement, firing sporadically and sending residents fleeing into nearby bushes. During that attack, one male resident was shot and killed, while two women, aged 25 and 35, who are wives of the Seriki Fulani (Fulani community leader), were abducted. The gunmen specifically sought a Fulani leader known as Ardo (Wudere) but could not find him, and soldiers later repelled the attackers before police arrived, forcing them to retreat into the forest.

Confirming the Monday incident, Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, said, “Yes, one man was killed while two women, 25 and 35 years of age, who are wives of the Seriki Fulani, were abducted. The attackers targeted the Fulani leader, Ardo. And for now, we are still on their trail because before we got there, the military had repelled them, and they ran into the forest, but we are on their trail.” As of Friday morning, the two women abducted on Monday remain missing.

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Security analysts believe the Thursday abduction of the Fulani couple is a continuation of the same operation by the same gang. The male victim is reportedly a relative of Wudere – the very Fulani leader the bandits failed to capture on Monday. By abducting his relative and the relative’s wife, the gunmen may be trying to pressure the community or force the leader to surface. No group has claimed responsibility, and police have not confirmed any arrests.

While Kwara battles fresh abductions, troops of the 12 Brigade of the Nigerian Army (under the 2 Division) recorded a major breakthrough in neighboring Kogi State. On June 3, 2026, terrorists attacked a residence near Solid Rock School in Ijalu, Egbe, Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, kidnapping five members of a family, including a mother and her infant child. Upon receiving a distress call, troops mobilized immediately and worked alongside members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) to pursue the terrorists along their withdrawal route. The sustained pressure forced the kidnappers to abandon Mrs. Adekemi Idowu and her six‑month‑old baby near the Oro axis before fleeing into surrounding vegetation.

The Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 12 Brigade Nigerian Army, Lt. Hassan Abdullahi, confirmed the rescue in a statement on Thursday: “Upon receiving the distress report, troops immediately mobilised in conjunction with members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN), launching a pursuit operation along the terrorists’ withdrawal route. The sustained pressure mounted by the security team forced the terrorists to abandon Mrs Adekemi Idowu and her six‑month‑old child near the Oro axis before fleeing into the surrounding area. The rescued victims were safely returned to their residence, while troops have continued aggressive search operations aimed at rescuing the remaining victims and apprehending the perpetrators.” Efforts are ongoing to locate the other three family members still in captivity.

The rescue of the mother and baby follows two other successful operations by the 12 Brigade within the same week. On June 1, 2026, troops freed 23 kidnapped passengers along the Ayegunle–Bunu Road in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area. Earlier, on May 30, 2026, soldiers foiled a planned kidnapping operation and neutralized one suspected terrorist during an ambush in Lokoja Local Government Area.

The back‑to‑back incidents in Kwara and Kogi highlight persistent security challenges in Nigeria’s North‑Central region, where banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and farmer‑herder clashes have escalated in recent months. Residents of Lafiagi have called for increased military patrols and intelligence gathering to track the bandits believed to be hiding in forests bordering Kwara, Niger, and Kogi states. The Kwara State Police Command has assured citizens that operatives are on the trail of the abductors, but no timeline has been given for the rescue of the abducted couple or the two women taken on Monday.

Couple Abducted in Kwara as Bandits Strike Twice in One Week

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INEC Warns Parties: Primaries After May 30 Deadline Risk Disqualification

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1 hour ago

June 5, 2026

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Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chairman Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan

INEC Warns Parties: Primaries After May 30 Deadline Risk Disqualification

ABUJA — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reiterated that political parties conducting primary elections after its May 30, 2026 deadline do so at their own risk, warning that such primaries remain invalid unless overturned by the Court of Appeal.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, gave the clarification while addressing concerns over the legal status of party primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He explained that political parties are still required to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 and the existing INEC timetable while the commission’s appeal against a Federal High Court judgment is pending.

According to him, any political party that conducts its primaries outside INEC’s official timetable risks having such exercises declared invalid.

“Obviously, for now, any primary held outside INEC’s May 30 deadline will be invalid unless the Court of Appeal overturns the Federal High Court judgment in INEC’s appeal against the ruling that the timetable breached the Electoral Act 2026 in some of its provisions.

“In other words, for now, the political parties are better advised to be guided by the existing Act,” Haruna said.

The controversy stems from a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar in a case filed by the Youth Party, which challenged INEC’s electoral timetable and guidelines for the 2027 polls.

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In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2026, the court held that INEC exceeded its powers by shortening timelines set by the Electoral Act 2026, particularly those relating to the submission of party membership registers and candidate nomination details.

The court ruled that while INEC has powers to organise and monitor elections, it cannot alter statutory timelines provided by law for political parties’ internal processes.

Following the judgment, INEC filed an appeal and also sought a stay of execution, insisting that its timetable was issued in line with its constitutional responsibility to ensure smooth electoral planning.

The commission had earlier fixed April 23 to May 30, 2026, as the window for political parties to conduct their primaries ahead of the 2027 elections, warning that submissions outside the deadline would not be accepted.

However, the legal dispute took another turn when another Federal High Court judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho upheld INEC’s authority to issue election timetables, while stressing that such powers must still operate within the limits of the Electoral Act 2026.

The conflicting court decisions have deepened uncertainty over the validity of party primaries conducted outside INEC’s approved schedule.

INEC maintained that until the Court of Appeal gives a final interpretation, political parties must continue to observe the existing timetable and avoid actions that could jeopardise their participation in the 2027 elections.

Political analysts say the ongoing legal battle could significantly affect candidate selection processes, warning that parties that ignore the deadline risk prolonged litigation and possible exclusion of their candidates.