Regional News
BREAKING: Terrorists Attack Nigerian Army Convoy In Buhari’s Home State, Kill Two Soldiers, Four Others. Source: Sahara Reporters
Two personnel of the Nigerian army have been killed following an ambush on a military convoy by gunmen suspected to be terrorists in Katsina State. The deceased soldiers and others were ambushed on Wednesday evening along Shimfida–Gurbi Road, Jibia Local Government Area of the state. Four civilians were also killed during the attack. SaharaReporters gathered that the military convoy was escorting residents of Shimfida community to Jibia town.
Terrorists kill two soldiers, injure others in ambush. Source: Premium Times
Two soldiers were killed while four others sustained injuries on Wednesday, after a gang of terrorists ambushed troops from the 32 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Katsina. A lieutenant is also still missing after the ambush. Military and state authorities did not respond to SMS and calls requesting comments on the attack. However, residents of Shimfida, where the attack took place told PREMIUM TIMES that many terrorists were also killed in the firefight that ensued after the ambush.
No Mercy: Military Airstrikes ‘Destroy’ Scores of Bandits, ISWAP Terrorists in Kaduna, Borno Communities. Source: PRNigeria
Less than a month after the launch of ‘Operation Show no Mercy,’ scores of armed bandits and terrorists have been eliminated by the Nigerian military Air Task Force with the support of special forces on the ground at different communities in Kaduna and Borno States. A defence intelligence source told PRNigeria that the military raids were in continuation of intensive air and ground troop operations on terrorists and their enclaves. According to him, the Air Component of Operation Whirl Punch on 30 August 2022 conducted air interdiction missions against identified terrorist hideouts at Alhaji Isiaka location and Kuduru in Igabi Local Government Area of the State.
Ground Troops Sustain Military Operations in Birnin Gwari LGA. Source: PRNigeria
Troops of Operation Forest Sanity made further gains as they continued fighting patrols and clearance operations in the Birnin Gwari area. In an operational feedback to the Kaduna State Government, it was reported that the troops embarked on the clearance patrol along the Birnin Gwari-Doka-Sabon Layi-Kuriga-Maganda-Farin Ruwa road. The troops made contact with the bandits at Farin Ruwa. Two bandits were neutralized in the encounter, as the criminal elements were forced to withdraw under the troops’ superior firepower.
Ex-Army Officer Arrested For Firearms Possession In Zamfara. Source: Humangle
The state police command in Zamfara, Northwest Nigeria, arrested a former army officer for possession of illegal firearms on Wednesday, Aug. 31. The officer, identified as ex-CP Sa’idu Lawal, 42, was apprehended after a police raid on Aug. 27 at about 4:30 p.m by the Police Tactical/Escort Team attached to the Police Commissioner of the State Command. According to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Zamfara State Command, Mohammed Shehu, weapons recovered include “1 AK-47 Rifle inscribed with Breech No. Q971987; 1 AK-49 Rifle with Breech No. 34-7094”.
Nigerian Army Kills Two Alleged IPOB Members, Recovers Rocket Launchers. Source: Sahara Reporters
The Nigerian Army says it has neutralised two alleged members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant wing Eastern Security Network (ESN) on Eke Ututu – Ihitte Nansa Road in the Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State. SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that trigger-happy soldiers of the Nigerian Army from Obinze 34 Artillery Brigade reportedly invaded Eke Ututu Market and killed two moulders in a block industry located in the area on Tuesday afternoon. They also shot an octogenarian who later died in a shop in front of his house.
Some People Who Failed To Tackle Boko Haram Insurgency Are Threatening Me With America’s CIA – Governor Wike. Source: Sahara Reporters
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has replied to the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorcha Ayu, saying he will only do the bidding of Nigerians not that of a “few individuals.” Ayu had described people from the Wike’s camp calling for his resignation as “children” who “were not around when PDP was formed.” Speaking at Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday during the flag-off of Igwuruta Internal Roads project, Governor Wike said a time would come when Nigerians would know leaders who say many things because of power and eventually destroy them.
Separatists Claim Responsibility For Rocket Attack In Northwest Cameroon. Source: Humangle
Two Cameroonian soldiers and one civilian were killed Sunday, Aug. 28, when Anglophone separatists attacked a military convoy in Bui, Northwest Cameroon. The mayor of Nkambe, Wirngo Buba Kibo, said that “on Sunday, while a convoy of the Cameroon army was on patrol, it fell on an ambush by separatists in the Wat zone, near the town of Nkambe in the northwest of the country.” The attack was confirmed by the regional governor, Lele L’Afrique, who called on the population to cooperate with the defence forces to combat “secessionist terrorists”.
Terrorists Attack Commissioner’s Convoy In Zamfara. Source: Humangle
Terrorists attacked the convoy of Zamfara’s Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Zainab Lawal Gummi, in northwest Nigerian state on Tuesday, Aug. 30. The terrorists shot at the convoy at about 6 p.m. at Kwanar Dogon-Karfe, along the Sokoto-Zamfara federal highway in the Bakura Local Government Area. The commissioner, who was in transit from Sokoto to Gusau, Zamfara’s capital, narrowly escaped the attack, along with her convoy of three cars. Zainab Gummi assured HumAngle over the phone that she was “hale and hearty”.
Terror Leader Conscripts 240 Residents As Farmhands In Northwest Nigeria. Source: Humangle
Dogo Gudale, a terror leader in Northwest Nigeria, has conscripted 240 people from 12 communities to work as his farmhands at Fasagora forest in Bukuyum, Zamfara. In his directive given on Saturday, Aug. 27, Gudale summoned 20 persons each through a message he sent to the village heads of 12 communities. These communities include Dargaje, Danzamau, Falali, Gidan-Dakarkari, Tashar-Taya, Fura-Girke, Kyaram, Fasagora, Mallamawa, Kura, Zara, and Farnanawa. Also in the message, the gang leader demanded that “any village that refuses to send their delegate to his farm should pay ₦1 million ($2,337) to avoid his wrath,” Tukur Danmanu, a resident of Farnanawa who was among those nominated by his community, told HumAngle.
Lagos-Bound Woman Arrested With 3 Abducted Children In Northeast Nigeria. Source: Humangle
A 46-year-old mother of two, Insa Henshaw, was on Thursday, Aug. 25, paraded by the police in Borno, Northeast Nigeria, after she was arrested at a bus station trying to travel with three children not related to her. According to the police, she was nabbed about three weeks ago when people spotted her trying to board a Lagos-bound bus with the children. The police said people in the park who noticed her strange behaviour with the children raised the alarm, which led to her arrest. Borno state police commissioner, Abdu Umar, informed journalists at a press briefing that she was found with cash of about ₦400,000 ($938).
The Day ‘Peacekeeping’ Troops Became Murderous In Nigeria’s Cross River Community. Source: Humangle
The residents of Nko and Onyadama have fought for decades over a land dispute. But the bells of inter-communal clashes were soon drowned by gunshots from soldiers, who had been sent to protect them.
Lux Terra Foundation Bemoans Worsening Insecurity. Source: PRNigeria
The Network and Advocacy Group of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation on Thursday, August 25, 2022 held the 10th Meeting of its Think Tank at the foundation’s multipurpose hall in Abuja. The meeting focused on insecurity and other social issues bedeviling the nation. In his welcome address, the Executive Director of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation and co-chair of the Think Tank, Rev Fr George Ehusani expressed his gratitude to members for their unwavering commitment to the Nigerian project and also commended them for continuously making efforts to address the issues of social justice, unity and peace in their respective spheres of influence. However, Fr Ehusani bemoaned the worsening state of insecurity in Nigeria and the seeming inability of government to contain it. While expressing concern about the high amounts of money paid out as ransom by kidnapping victims across the country, Fr Ehusani called on the government to consider refunding such moneys to survivors as compensation for its failure to meet with its primary responsibility of securing the lives and properties of citizens.
Abducted IRC Official Regains Freedom. Source: Humangle
A staff member of the International Rescue Committee, Alkali Imam, who was abducted by non-state actors last March, has been released, officials have told HumAngle. Imam was abducted on March 10, 2022, by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) during an attack on the town of Monguno, where he was working in Northeast Nigeria. He was one of the three civilians who went missing during the attack.
Another Notorious Kidnapper Captured in Weapons in Zamfara. Source: PRNigeria
NAME OF SUSPECT: – Ex-Cpl Sa’idu Lawal‘ M’ aged 41 years old a notorious kidnapper who specializes in Armed Robbery, Kidnapping, Gun Running and other heinous crimes that have for long been disturbing the peace and security of Zamfara State and neighbouring Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Kebbi and Sokoto States.
NAF Pledges to Tackle Child Terrorism, Exploitation. Source: PRNigeria
In a bid to curb child terrorism and exploitation in Nigeria, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao has pledged the support of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the Nigerian Children’s Parliament in its quest to minimize the vulnerability of children and protecting them against all forms of terrorism. Air Marshal Amao stated this while playing host to the Federal Capital Territory representative of the Nigerian Children’s Parliament, Miss Splendour Joe-King and members of her entourage at the NAF Headquarters, Abuja.
Peace and Security
Kogi security expert calls for intelligence gathering. Source: Blue Print
A public analyst and security consultant, Alhaji Ahmed Adoke, has stated the need for the country’s security system to improve on intelligence gathering and implementation of security reports in order to combat incessant attacks by terrorists and other criminal elements terrorising the country.
The call was contained in a memo he sent to the committee of the House of Representatives on National Security and Intelligence investigating the recent attack on Kuje National Correctional Centre, Abuja. In the memo, Alhaji Ahmed Adoke, who is the Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of Duniya Security Agencies, berated the leadership of the country’s security Agencies for often treating intelligence reports with nonchalant attitude.
Boko Haram, 34 Other Armed Conflicts Fueling Child Displacement in Africa – ICRC. Source: PRNigeria
The International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, says that there are over 35 active armed conflicts in Africa today, and is responsible for the disappearance of thousands of people, including children in Nigeria, and other African countries. ICRC’s Head of Delegation, Yann Bonzon, stated this in Abuja on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared, marked annually on August 30. According to ICRC Head of Delegation, the ICRC in Nigeria in collaboration with the Nigerian Red Cross assisted in the exchange of 1,250 Red Cross messages containing family news, re-establishing contact between separated family members, while 440 phone calls were made by families to maintain family contact, in 2022 alone.
Humanitarian
Improved reading: USAID targets additional 3.5m Nigerian children. Source: BluePrint
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is targeting an additional 3.5 million Nigerian children in its new learn to read activity to improve reading outcomes. The U. S. Embassy in a press Statement, Theusday, disclosed that: “On August 30, the USAID launched the Leveraging Education Assistance Resources in Nigeria (LEARN) to read activity, to improve early grade reading in the country over the next five years.“This $48.8 million U.S. Mission Nigeria investment in education will provide a better future to millions of Nigerian children, and help lead to thriving, prosperous communities throughout Nigeria. “LEARN to Read will contribute to improvement in the reading outcomes of more than 3.5 million children in 5,900 schools and in the capacity of more than 35,000 teachers, headteachers, and school support officers to support early grade reading in about 6,000 schools.
ANALYSIS: Digital humanitarianism in Africa: hope or hype? Source: Premium Times
Many humanitarian organisations, including in Africa, are revolutionising their service delivery through new technology. This has become important in the context of rising migrant numbers, food insecurity and the impact of COVID-19. In 2020, the United Nations (UN) estimated that 3.6 per cent of the global population (around 281 million people) needed humanitarian assistance. Organisations worldwide have adopted innovative and efficient digital tools such as biometrics, spatial mapping and social media platforms in humanitarian programming. This technology became even more relevant when the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.9 gave every person the right to a legal identity, including birth registration, by 2030. Although digital tools are useful, Africa must adopt and use them pragmatically. For refugees and migrants, the priority should be improving traditional approaches to managing displaced people, with digital tools adopted only if they add value.
Children’s Participation Could Reduce Climate-Related Risks – UNICEF. Source: Humangle
Expanding knowledge of climate change, green skills and resilience techniques can help prepare children for impending climate crises and shield them from climate-related health risks, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said. The organisation noted in a guideline published Aug. 31 that children should be provided with knowledge of climate change through formal and informal education, and countries should ensure they participate in climate action, adaptation and resilience activities.
Over Half A Million People In Nigeria Affected By Floods This Year. Source: Humangle
More than half a million people in Nigeria have been impacted by the flooding that has swept through 22 states and the capital since January, according to a statement from the country’s President Muhammadu Buhari. “From the latest briefing I’ve received, flooding has affected about 500,000 Nigerians since the beginning of 2022 in 22 states and the FCT (Federal Capital Territory). I want to assure that the Federal Govt will continue to monitor the situation closely and to support the affected States & communities,” the President said on Tuesday. A more comprehensive statement from a senior aide revealed that 508,721 people were affected by flooding across the country, with incidents recorded in the southern states of Edo, Delta, Ebonyi, Anambra, Imo, Abia, and the economic hub of Lagos. In the country’s north, flooding was recorded in Yobe, Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, and the Federal Capital Territory.
4 Killed, 7,000 Households Displaced As Flood Destroys Bridge Linking Borno, Yobe Communities. Source: Humangle
Flooding caused by a torrential downpour on Monday, Aug. 29, brought down a bridge on a major highway linking Borno and Yobe states in Northeast Nigeria, officials said. Four lives were lost to the flood, which also displaced more than 7,000 households in communities around the boundaries shared by Borno and Yobe states. Officials of the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (YOSEMA) said the most affected are communities in the Gulani and Gujba council areas. Executive Secretary of SEMA, Mohammed Goje, said the destroyed bridge was located near Katarko on the highway that links Damaturu, Yobe state capital, with Biu town in Borno State.
A Skills, Literacy Initiative Is Giving Almajirai A Lifeline In Northern Nigeria. Source: Humangle
Millions of children sent to Quranic school by their parents and who ended up begging on the streets have become a major problem in Northern Nigeria. This foundation empowers more and more of them through a skill acquisition programme.
Links Between Climate Crisis, Violence Against Children Should Be Addressed – Report. Source: Humangle
Limits to the study of the impacts of climate change on children are inhibiting child protection efforts, argues Barnfonden, a member of the ChildFund Alliance. According to a report published by the Swedish child rights organisation, “in the rapidly changing climate we are experiencing, we cannot afford to sit on the bench. We need to strengthen the discourse on linking climate change and environmental degradation risks and protecting children from violence, especially at local levels where children are impacted the most.”
CJID, CIJ Build Nigerian Journalists’ Capacity To Influence Climate Resilience. Source: Humangle
To strengthen the coverage of climate change in Nigeria, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), in partnership with the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ), organised a training event for Climate Change Media Fellows. The three-day workshop took place between Aug. 15 and 17 in Lagos, one of the cities most vulnerable to rising sea levels and coastal flooding in Africa. It provided journalists and researchers with a series of learning programmes to understand climate change science and gain the skills to curate and produce human and data-driven stories. Climate change journalism is considered an integral part of ensuring a fair low carbon transition and investments in adaptation initiatives to support the most vulnerable, especially in Africa.
Cameroon Shuts 30 Mining Sites After Fatal Landslide. Source: Humangle
Not less than 30 mining sites, all located around the eastern borders of Cameroon, have this week been sealed by the government of the central African country following a landslide incident that claimed 33 lives, officials say. The sealed gold mines include the ones owned by indigenous miners and those supervised by the Chinese. The government had decided to shut down the mining sites even though it would affect some of the ongoing corporate social responsibility projects that the officially licensed mining companies are rendering to communities in the region.
Flood In Niger Republic Takes Grave Toll On Communities Bordering Nigeria. Source: Humangle
A total of 35 persons were killed and 51 others injured by flood following weeks of heavy rains around the coastal areas of the Niger Republic in the last two months, officials have said. Significant impacts of the flood were recorded around Maradi and Zinder, regions which share borders with states in Northwest Nigeria. Niger Republic’s Minister of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management, Laouan Magagi, who disclosed this as the West African country commemorated this year’s International Humanitarian Day, said the floods had affected at least 76,000 people since July 2022.
ICRC Raises Alarm over 14,000 Missing Children in Nigeria. Source: PRNigeria
According to the latest figures shared by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 64,000 cases of disappeared persons have been reported across Africa. In Nigeria alone, over 25,000 people have been reported missing. Almost 14,000 or more than half of the missing are children. There are over 35 active armed conflicts in Africa today; thousands of people, including children, cross borders, the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea in search of safety and a better life each year. Such movements often entail great risk, including the risk of disappearance. Documented cases of missing persons are on the rise; however, the ICRC warns that the actual figures are much higher.
What Happens When An Abuse Victim Leaves? Source: Humangle
Many things prompt women to walk away from abusive marriages, but a huge part of that decision has to do with support from family, their financial status, and concerns about child custody.
