Regional News
96 Chibok Schoolgirls Still Missing Despite President Buhari’s Assurance Since 2015 – BBOG Community Laments, Marks Ninth Anniversary. Source: Sahara Reporters
The #BringBackOurGirls movement has said that it is unfortunate that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is winding down without fulfilling his promise of rescuing all the abducted Chibok schoolgirls. The BBOG on Thursday in a release to mark the ninth year anniversary of the abducted schoolgirls recalled how Buhari at the Eagle’s Square on May 29, 2015, said, “We cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.”
Gen Khalifah Concludes Farewell Tour of MNJTF Sectors. Source: PRNigeria
The outgoing Force Commander (FC) Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF)Maj Gen Abdul Khalifah Ibrahim accompanied by the Deputy Force Commander (DFC) Brig Gen Assoualai Blama and other senior officers of the MNJTF today Thursday 13 April 2023 concluded the last leg of his farewell visit that had seen him visit sectors 1, 2 and 3 earlier.
Terrorists Demand Additional Ransoms From 85 Zamfara Residents To Purchase Motorcycles Lost To Nigerian Military. Source: Sahara Reporters
The terrorists who kidnapped 85 people in Wanzamai village in the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State have demanded an additional N850,000 from the community to buy two motorcycles after collecting the sum of N1.7million as ransom. SaharaReporters had reported that the 85 people were kidnapped by the terrorists last Friday in the community.
Although the victims’ ages were not specified, it was learnt that they included women and children.
Military Troops Nab Bandit During ‘Search Operation’ on Kaduna Highway. Source: PRNigeria
Today 13 April 2023, troops of Operation WHIRL PUNCH acting on credible intelligence conducted search operation at POLEWIRE along road Kaduna-Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State and intercepted a black Toyota Corolla. Troops searched vehicle and discovered arms and arms hidden in different compartments of the vehicle.
Eight people killed in fresh Kaduna attack – Resident. Source: Premium Times
At least eight people were reported killed during an attack in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, Kaduna State, residents of the area have said. The President of Atyap Community Development Association, a community organisation in the area, Sam Timbuwak, told reporters in Kaduna on Thursday. Mr Timbuwak said the attack occurred on Wednesday at around 9 a.m.
98 Chibok Schoolgirls Still In Captivity 9 Years After. Source: Daily Trust
Ninety eight of the 276 students kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, are still in captivity, nine years after their abduction. The Chibok schoolgirls were abducted from their school on April 14, 2014.
Sustain Your Fighting Spirits – MNJTF Commander Charges Troops. Source: PRNigeria
The outgoing Force Commander (FC) Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) Maj Gen Abdul Khalifah Ibrahim has charged officers and men to sustain high morale in the fight against insurgents. He was speaking during the continuation of his farewell visit sequel to his recent redeployment to the Nigerian National Security Adviser’s office. On Monday 10 April 2023, he visited Sectors 2 MNJTF Bagasola (Chad) and Sector 3 MNJTF Monguno (Nigeria).
Dozens killed in ‘barbaric’ Burkina Faso attacks. Source: BBC
Some 44 people have been killed after two deadly attacks in northern Burkina Faso on Thursday, officials have said. The twin attacks happened in the villages of Kourakou and Tondobi in the Sahel region, near the Niger border.
Finally, Troops Neutralize Notorious Kaduna Bandit, Isiya Danwasa at Igabi. Source: PRNigeria
Governor Nasir El-Rufai has commended troops of Operation Forest Sanity (OPFS) for neutralizing a notorious bandit leader, Isiya Danwasa, who was responsible for several killings, kidnappings and cattle rustling operations across the state. Danwasa met his end during a strategic ambush operation in Sabon Birni general area of Igabi LGA. Governor El-Rufai praised the troops for the diligent intelligence work and precise execution which led to the demise of Danwasa and his associate.
Residents, police disagree over number of those abducted by terrorists in Zamfara community. Source: Premium Times
Residents of Wanzamai village in Tsafe Local Government of Zamfara state have released the names of 85 people that were abducted by terrorists on Friday. The community released the names following the claim by the police that only nine people were abducted.
Gunmen Kill 36 In Benue IDPs Camp. Source: Daily Trust
Gunmen, on Friday night killed 36 people in an attack on the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp at LGEA Primary School, Ngban in Nyiev Council ward of Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
Tensions Rise In Northwest Nigeria Over Recent Mass Abduction. Source: Humangle
Relatives of more than 80 kidnapped people in Garin Wanzamai of Tsafe Local Government Area (LGA) in Northwest Nigeria, have raised concerns over the kidnapping of their family members. Days since the abduction, they say they haven’t heard from the kidnappers. The victims —about 80 of them — are thought to be between the ages of 11 and 20 and were kidnapped while helping to clean up farmlands on the morning of April 7, according to locals. They include boys and girls.
Armed gangs kill 74 in Nigeria’s Benue state. Source: news24
At least 74 people were killed in Nigeria’s Benue state in two separate attacks by shooters this week, local officials and police said on Saturday, the latest clashes in an area where violence between pastoralists and farmers is common.
Eight Persons Killed In Taraba State Community In Renewed Kutep, Fulani Clashes. Source: Sahara Reporters
No fewer than eight people have been confirmed dead in a renewed clash in the Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State. It was learnt that the clash was between Kutep and Fulani pastoralists in Kwe Sati and Fikye communities in the State.
Nigerian Military Releases More Men Imprisoned For Years Without Trial. Source: Humangle
The Nigerian military has released more than 400 men, arbitrarily detained during the conflict in the northeast. Among them are hundreds of husbands of the Knifar Women, the campaign group made up of the wives and mothers of some of the detained men. The men, mostly detained between 2014 and 2016, were released between April 5 and 6 from facilities across the country, in Lagos, Kainji in Northcentral Nigeria, and Giwa Barracks in the Northeast.
Mayor Calls On Cameroonian Government To Secure Release Of 22 Kidnapped Villagers. Source: Humangle
The Mayor of a Cameroonian border town has called on the government to assist in the search for 22 people kidnapped last weekend by terrorists suspected to have come from Nigeria.
ISWAP Claims Killing Of Security Forces In Southern Nigeria. Source: Humangle
The Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) on Friday claimed responsibility for killing three security personnel during an attack in Edo state in southern Nigeria. The group says the attack on a Nigerian army checkpoint in Akoko resulted in four injuries. However, the incident was likely connected to Thursday’s ambush of police officers along the Igarra-Auchi Road in the Akoko-Edo Local Government Area.
Man Who Slaughtered Six Arrested in Cameroon. Source: Humangle
Security forces in Cameroon have arrested a suspect who killed five children and a woman in Nanga Eboko, Centre region.
NIGERIA DAILY: How Resurfacing Of Naira Notes Might Be Fuelling Resurgence Of Insecurity. Source: Daily Trust
The recent attacks which happened separately in Zamfara, Kaduna, Bornu, and Katsina where so many people were abducted are some indications of the deplorable state of security in the country.
Nigerian Troops Kill Bandit Leader, Isiya Danwasa, Others In Kaduna, Recover Cash, Guns, Others. Source: Sahara Reporters
Troops of Operation Forest Sanity under 1 Division Nigerian Army have killed a bandit leader identified as Isiya Danwasa and his men in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The troops reportedly recovered a motorcycle, weapons and cash from the bandits.
IPOB Declares Sit-At-Home In South-East On May 30 To Honour ‘Civil War Heroes’. Source: Sahara Reporters
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) asked the residents of the South-East to observe a sit-at-home on May 30, 2023, to honour the “fallen heroes”. May 30 every year has been observed by pro-Biafra agitators and civil war veterans as a memorial day for those who died during the 30 months civil war that reportedly claimed no fewer than three million lives. It is also a day now set aside to remember all those killed in all Biafra struggle in Nigeria.
Peace and Security
Civilians Adapt To Survive As Insurgents Fight For Influence In Africa’s Central Sahel. Source: Humangle
Civilians in the conflict-torn Central Sahel have developed complex and innovative relationships with competing factions of insurgent and other extremist groups, forming “social contracts” that have significant repercussions on lives in the region, a recent study has shown. The new research conducted by researchers at the University of Kent, funded by the British government and based on interviews with more than 150 people in the region, has documented the different ways extremist groups in the Central Sahel interact with civilians in the terrorist-controlled areas.
Humanitarian
Despite Security Risks, Nigerian Authorities Plan To Resettle IDPs To Mallam Fatori. Source: Humangle
Nigerian authorities plan on resuming a resettlement programme for displaced people in Malam Fatori, a remote community near the border with Niger that has been overrun by the Islamic State, despite humanitarian and security concerns.
Hunger In Northeast Nigeria Means Displaced People Must Eat During Islamic Fast. Source: Humangle
Food shortages in Internally Displaced People’s camps in northeast Nigeria mean hungry people are having to eat and drink what little they can to stave off illness, making the Islamic Ramadan fast impossible to adhere to.
Why crimes against children fester, by Amnesty International. Source: Guardian
Amnesty International Nigeria (AIN) has lamented that lack of accountability for crimes against children has emboldened impunity. The Acting Director, Isa Sanusi, told The Guardian in Enugu that Nigerian authorities had not carried out a single credible investigation into the security failures that left children vulnerable to the atrocities committed by Boko Haram and gunmen.
Military Shuts Maiduguri Juvenile Sex Brothels. Source: Daily Trust
The Nigerian military has raided Maiduguri underage brothels at Kasuwan Fara, Shagari low-cost area of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. The shutting down of the brothel followed an exclusive report by the Daily Trust on Saturday exposing the illegal activities at the brothels.
Kaduna: Air strikes kill fleeing bandits in Birnin Gwari LGA. Source: Blueprint
Operation Whirl Punch in an aerial strike on Wednesday morning killed several bandits who were trying to escape after attacking Sabo Layi and surrounding villages in Birnin Gwari local government area o&f Kaduna state. Kaduna state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, in a statement on Wednesday, said the aerial attack followed a distress call received from the village of armed attack by bandits. “At around 9:44am, the Ministry received a distress call of armed bandits attacking Sabon Layi village in Birnin Gwari LGA.
Stabilization and economic development
Inside Nigeria’s $800m World Bank Loan for Palliative. Source: Premium Times
The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, last Wednesday disclosed that Nigeria has secured a World Bank facility worth $800 million. According to her, the $800 million is the first tranche of palliatives to be disbursed through cash transfers to about 50 million Nigerians, who belong to the most vulnerable category in the society. Details of a document seen by PREMIUM TIMES showed that the financing agreement is between Nigeria and the International Development Association (IDA), a part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries.
Subsidy palliative: Nigerians to share $747m, logistics gulp $53m. Source: The Guardian
The Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning is expected to spend $53 million on hiring staffers, office administration, committee overheads and other logistics such as training and workshops out of the $800 million the Federal Government has secured from the World Bank to mitigate the effects of petrol subsidy removal on vulnerable Nigerians.
