Why 104 More ISWAP Fighters Surrendered – Newstrends
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Why 104 More ISWAP Fighters Surrendered

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An additional 104 fighters loyal to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have surrendered in Borno State, the military said on Monday, citing increased bombardment by ground troops and air force as the reason.

The military authorities explained that the fighters and members of their families surrendered to the 25 Task Force Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Damboa, Borno State.

According to the military on its official Facebook page, those that surrendered were 22 males, 27 females and 55 children, noting that they took the decisions following persistent troops’ operations.

It said the deadly assaults on the terrorists by the military forced the fighters and their families out of hiding. Damboa is approximately 90km southwest of Maiduguri, the state capital and is in the southern part of Borno State.

Daily Trust reports that recently, the attention of political and military leaders had shifted to southern Borno following increased terrorists’ activities around Damboa, Chibok and Askira Uba, among others following the massive relocation of ISWAP fighters from northern Borno and the fringes of the Lake Chad.

Credible sources told Daily Trust that the terrorists were finding it easy to manoeuvre their way back to Sambisa or Alagarno forests whenever they launched attacks on nearby locations in the affected LGAs. 

It was around Askira Uba that Brigadier General Dzarma Zirkushu, the commander of the 28 Task Force Brigade of the Nigerian Army and three other officers were killed in November last year when they were ambushed by the terrorists.

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‘It’s a new dawn for us’

A military source told one of our correspondents last night that more terrorists and their families would surrender in the coming days because they have no option.

“Sustained operation is ongoing. Take it from me; it will never be the same because a lot of factors hampering our operations have been addressed,” he said.

“It is now dry season and the visibility is clearer. Also, our Super Tucano jets and other fighting equipment have been deployed to both northern and southern Borno.

“And as you can see, the actual fighters from the 104 that surrendered are not more than 25; the rest are vulnerable women and children and this is what is slowing massive bombardment.

“It will not be good to kill the vulnerable and that is why the operation is taking longer time. But then, you can see them coming out from their hideouts because they know the situation is no longer the same. 

“We have neutralised scores of ISWAP commanders especially around the shores of Lake Chad in the last few days.

“Their massive relocation to southern Borno from northern Borno following sustained operation has further weakened them,” he said.

Our correspondent reports that since June 2021, hundreds of Boko Haram fighters and their families have surrendered following the killing of their leader, Abubakar Shekau, in May of the same year.

Also, the killing of ISWAP leader Abu Musab Albarnawi and those who took over from him in succession has thrown the group into disarray with barely a central command. 

Sources said many of the frontline commanders have dropped their arms with some of them being rehabilitated by Operation Safe Corridor in Gombe camp and other places.

On July 30, 2021, the Nigerian Army said the troops of Operation Hadin Kai took custody of 91 Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists and their families who surrendered in the North East.

Similarly, in August 2021, the Army through its spokesman, Onyema Nwachukwu, a Brigadier-General, disclosed that 56 terrorists and their families laid down their arms.

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In September 2021, the Nigerian military high command said 8,000 Boko Haram commanders, fighters, and their family members had surrendered since June 2021.

‘Terrorists likely behind Okene police station attack’

Terrorists were likely responsible for the attack on the Divisional Police Headquarters in Okene, Kogi State in the late hours of Sunday, Daily Trust learnt.

Authorities and locals said the attackers were chanting religious incantations during the attack.

Some of the sources said the attackers wanted to seize the opportunity to steal arms in the station.

The Kogi State Police Command Public Relations Officer, William Aya, said the state Police Commissioner, Edward Ebuka, had drafted a crack team from the headquarters to trail and arrest the perpetrators.

In a statement made available to Daily Trust on Monday in Lokoja, he said: “On February 6 at about 2200hrs, some armed hoodlums attacked the Okene Area Command Headquarters with sporadic gunshots and explosives chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’. 

“The officers on duty gallantly repelled the hoodlums, shot dead one of them which forced them to flee before the arrival of backup teams from neighbouring divisions.”

It was learnt that the hoodlums went to the town on motorbikes and rode straight to the police area command headquarters with explosives and other dangerous weapons, shooting sporadically.  

“The attack has the hallmark of how terrorists operate,” one of our sources said. 

“The Boko Haram, the ISWAP and Ansaru fighters raid security formations to get arms. And let me remind you that in the last 10 years or thereabouts, we have picked many Boko Haram and Ansaru fighters in Kogi State. 

“They capitalise on the relative peace in the state to hibernate. Abu Dardaa, who is in our custody after his arrest in Kaduna, has a lot of contacts in Kogi,” he said.

“The truth is that Kogi deserves special attention because of its proximity to Abuja and other states,” another source said.

“Some of these miscreants hide there. Even though they rarely launch an attack there, they organise criminal activities from there. What happened yesterday was surprising,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Kogi State Government has commended the gallantry of the police operatives, hunters and others who repelled the attack on the Okene police divisional headquarters.

A statement by Kinsley Fanwo, Commissioner of Information and Communication, said 30 hoodlums armed to the teeth invaded the station.

Daily Trust reports that in April 2016, Khalid al-Barnawi, the leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group, Ansaru, was captured at a facility in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State. He is still in detention.

The United States had placed a $5m (£3.5m) bounty on his head after branding him one of three Nigerian “specially designated global terrorists” in 2012.

Ansaru is a splinter group of Boko Haram.

Abductors of Kaduna Catholic priest demand N60m

Abductors of a Catholic Priest in Chawai Chiefdom in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State have demanded N60m, Daily Trust gathered.

Reverend Father Joseph Danjuma Shekari was abducted in the parish house located in Chawai, Kauru LGA on Sunday night.

A source from the community who spoke with Daily Trust said when they called the priest’s number on Monday, the abductors said they would only release the cleric if paid N60m.

It was gathered that his aide, Mr Sati Musa, was shot dead by the abductors who stormed the house between 10 and 11 pm.

The 20-year-old Musa was a student of St. Monica’s Secondary School Ikulu-Pari, Chawai who was preparing to write final year exams.

A statement signed by the Chancellor, Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan, Bishop Emmanuel Uchechukwu Okolo, called for serious prayers for the release of the clergy and urged the people to refrain from taking laws into their hands.

The Catholic priest is the fifth priest abducted in Southern Kaduna between 2021 and now. 

Daily Trust

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DSS, NIA probe Natasha Akpoti’s attendance at IPU meeting

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Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

DSS, NIA probe Natasha Akpoti’s attendance at IPU meeting

Nigeria’s security and intelligence agencies have launched an investigation into how Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central attended the recent Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in New York without official nomination.

According to a report by Premium Times, officials from the Department of State Service (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) are reportedly examining the circumstances surrounding her attendance, including who facilitated her participation, how she obtained accreditation, and whether her presence was intended to embarrass the Nigerian government.

The investigation follows concerns that the senator did not receive official clearance from the Nigerian Senate to represent the country at the IPU event on March 11.

According to the IPU’s regulations, participation is generally restricted to official delegates nominated by their respective national parliaments, with details submitted in advance for accreditation. While some individuals may attend as observers, this typically requires explicit approval from both the IPU and the home country’s delegation.

At the meeting, Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan raised concerns about her recent suspension from the Nigerian Senate, describing it as a politically motivated move aimed at silencing her. She also made allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio. In response, IPU President Tulia Ackson stated that the organization would investigate the matter while also considering the Nigerian Senate’s perspective.

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However, Nigerian delegate Kafilat Ogbara, who chairs the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, challenged Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims, presenting a letter from Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele. The letter stated that the senator’s suspension was due to violations of Senate standing rules rather than retaliation for her statements against Mr. Akpabio.

During a plenary session last Thursday, Mr. Bamidele questioned the legitimacy of Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan’s attendance at the IPU event, emphasizing that the IPU operates based on established protocols.

“So, if for any reason one of our colleagues, who was not even supposed to be there, found her way to the place, sat on the seat meant for Nigeria, and spoke for herself rather than for Nigeria, you know, that’s another issue altogether,” he stated.

Similarly, Jimoh Ibrahim, chairman of the Senate Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Activities, issued a statement on Friday asserting that Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan had no official authorization to represent Nigeria at the IPU meeting.

Sources indicate that the DSS and NIA’s inquiry is examining whether Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan obtained unauthorized credentials or was assisted by external facilitators in securing her participation. Investigators are also looking into whether her presence violated IPU regulations or Nigeria’s parliamentary protocols.

Additionally, the probe aims to determine if her statements at the meeting misrepresented Nigeria’s official position and whether any individuals or organizations played a role in facilitating her attendance without the government’s knowledge.

It remains unclear how the security agencies will act once their findings are concluded.

 

DSS, NIA probe Natasha Akpoti’s attendance at IPU meeting

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Why we awarded Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project to Hitech – Dave Umahi

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Minister of Works David Umahi 

Why we awarded Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project to Hitech – Dave Umahi

The Federal Government has explained why it awarded the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project to Hitech Construction Company Ltd.

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, made the explanation during an inspection tour of the highway project in Lagos on Saturday.

“Some people say that it didn’t go through a competitive bidding.

“I want to explain this: we have three types of procurement allowed by law,” he said.

Umahi listed the three types as restrictive procurement, selective/competitive bidding, and open bidding.

“When we started this project, we asked for companies that have up to five wirtgne concrete paver.

“You will agree with me that until we started this, the concrete paver was not common in Nigeria as it is today.

“We had to look for a company that had done this kind of project before, and that is Hitech.”

He noted that Hitech reconstructed the Oworonshoki Apapa Road.

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“We saw that they got it right; so, we called them on Section 1.

“Then, we used restrictive bidding, which we sent to BPP (Bureau for Public Procurement) and we sent to the Federal Executive Council and they looked at it and corrected where they should and passed it accordingly.

“When other companies started bringing in some equipment, because they saw that Ministry of Works is insisting, especially where we have high water table, that we must use concrete, they started to bring in concrete equipment,” he said.

Umahi said that the Federal Government consequently opened Section 2 of the project to selective bidding and selected some companies and they bid.

He said that Hitech won the bidding for Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project.

The minister said that in Section 3A and 3B, the same thing happened.

“We have not gone outside the law, we have not gone outside the Procurement Act.”

He emphasised that President Bola Tinubu did not recommend any company for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project.

“ I want to say that there is no corruption in it. It is very transparent,” Umahi added.

 

Why we awarded Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project to Hitech – Dave Umahi

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Corps member alleges threats over viral video criticising Tinubu gov’t

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Corps member alleges threats over viral video criticising Tinubu gov’t

corps member serving in Lagos State has alleged that she is receiving threatening messages after publicly criticizing President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

In a viral video, the corps member, identified on TikTok as @talktoraye, voiced her frustration over Nigeria’s worsening economic situation, particularly the rising cost of living.

She questioned the government’s response to inflation and lamented how the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program has not been financially sustainable for her, as her expenses far exceed her allowance.

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She said: “If a lot of Nigerians come out and start speaking about what we are going through, maybe changes will be made in the government. I just want to say to our president, I don’t know if there is any other president that is as terrible as you, but you are such a terrible president.”

The corps member recounted her shock at the soaring prices of essential goods, including a crate of eggs now selling for N6,500, a significant jump from previous prices. She also complained about skyrocketing utility bills and transportation costs, describing them as unsustainable.

Following the video’s circulation, she claimed to have received calls from an NYSC official, who allegedly pressured her to take down the post.

In a subsequent video, she shared a recording of one such call, during which an official reportedly scolded her, saying: “Are you normal? Keep quiet and bring down the video you posted.”

As of now, the NYSC has not issued an official response to these allegations.

 

Corps member alleges threats over viral video criticising Tinubu gov’t

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