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6,931 people killed in Nigeria under Tinubu in 10 months— Report

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A report released on Friday by an organisation that monitors the activities of terrorists and insecurity in Nigeria, the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST), has revealed that in the 10 months that President Bola Tinubu has been in office, no fewer than 6,931 persons, including security personnel, have been killed.

In the report, the NST, a project of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Africa programme, which documented and mapped violence in Nigeria motivated by political, economic or social grievances during the period, stated that the death toll include the 17 soldiers who were killed by youths on a peace-keeping mission in Okuama community in Bomadi local government area of Delta State on March 14.

The report also noted that as a result of the Okuama crisis, 67 “souls” have been lost to reprisal attacks by soldiers out to avenge the killing of their colleagues who included a Lieutenant Colonel, two Majors and a Captain and other rank and file soldiers.

The NST report also compared the first 10 months of immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari and that of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan and noted that the killings under Tinubu has overtaken those under the two previous regimes in the same period under review.

“In the first 10 months of President Muhammadu Buhari from May 2015 to March 2016, Nigeria lost 6,356 people to insecurity,” the report said.

“In former President Goodluck Jonathan’s first 10 months as elected head of state, May 2011 to March 2012, insecurity claimed 2,059 lives.

“But in President Bola Bola Tinubu’s first 10 months from May 2023 to March 2024, not less than 6,931 lives have been lost in Nigeria.

“In all, the figures are conservative because some killings are under-reported or not reported. In January 2024, troops killed 266 terrorists and bandits in operations across the country. In February 2024, troops neutralised 974 terrorists.

“In the last two months, the Chairman of Benue Ethnic Leaders and President General of Mzough U Tiv, MUT, Worldwide, Chief lorbee Ihagh, claimed that herdsmen militia had killed no fewer than 147 persons in various attacks on Benue communities.

“As of March 21, no fewer than 432 lives had been lost to insecurity in the third month of the year.

“Recurring bandits’ attacks in Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Kebbi and many North-East and North-Central states have led the deaths and kidnap of thousands of people.

“The South-East states where unknown gunmen are wreaking havoc are not spared. So also states of South-South and parts of South-West where criminal gangs and armed herdsmen operate.

“Disturbed by the killings in different parts of the country, the National Assembly has held many meetings with the security chiefs and President Tinubu had repeatedly ordered the security chiefs to halt the trend.

“However, it is yet to be seen if these moves would yield the desired results in terms of security of lives and property of Nigerians,” the NST report said.

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Zambia: APP leader lampoons PF over pledge to reverse forfeited properties

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Leader of one of Zambia’s opposition parties, Advocates for People’s Prosperity (APP), Mwenye Musenge, has criticised the Patriotic Front (PF) over its promise to reverse forfeited properties if the party won the 2026 presidential election.

Musenge, who was reacting to a statement credited to the PF Member of Parliament (MP) for Lukashya Province, George Chisanga, described the PF’s promise as a betrayal, saying the declaration had exposed the party’s disregard for accountability and justice.

The APP leader, who spoke to Zambia Monitor in a telephone interview from Kitwe, expressed shock that Chisanga, a former Law Association of Zambia president, would endorse what he termed a “regressive agenda,” accusing the PF of prioritising the protection of corrupt individuals over the welfare of citizens.

“This declaration reveals the PF’s true intentions, returning to power not to serve Zambians, but to shield their corrupt network and restore stolen assets,” Musenge said.

He alleged that former President Edgar Lungu’s consistent calls to protect his family, who he claimed cannot explain their amassed wealth, further demonstrate the party’s self-serving mission.

Musenge further described the PF as “a political carcass animated by greed and nostalgia for its days of unchecked looting,” and accused its leaders of leaving Zambia impoverished while enriching themselves.

“Allowing them near power again would be akin to handing a butcher’s knife to a thief already drenched in the blood of the nation’s resources.

“The PF represents everything wrong with Zambian politics—a relic of the past clinging to survival through recycled lies and corrupt agendas,” he added.

Musenge went on to call for the party to be permanently eradicated, saying it had no vision, morality, or credibility to serve Zambians.

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Nigerian Senate confirms influx of terrorists from Mali, Burkina Faso into the country 

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The Nigerian Senate has raised the alarm over the influx of terrorists from Mali and Burkina Faso who operate in the name of Lakurawa, into Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna and Niger States in the northern parts of the country.

The Upper Chamber, which raised the alarm during plenary on Wednesday, called on the military to set up early warning mechanisms to forestall further incursions by terrorist groups as well as maintain presence and vigilance in the affected communities to halt the activities of the terror group from spreading further across the region.

The resolutions of the Senate were sequel to a motion titled, “Urgent need for the federal government to take stringent measures to stop the infiltration of a group of violent terrorists, known as Lakurawa, from entrenching themselves in some northwest states of Sokoto and Kebbi,” and was sponsored by the senator representing Kebbi North, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, and co- sponsored by Senators Adamu Aliero, from Kebbi Central, and Garba Musa Maidoki, representing Kebbi South.

While presenting the motion, Senator Abdullahi said:

“The Senate is aware that a group of terrorists from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, known as Lakurawa, has infiltrated the country through the Nigeria-Niger border, at Illela, Tangaza and Silame Local Government Areas of Sokoto and are from there, attacking communities in Augie and Arewa LGAs in Kebbi State.

“Recall that this violent gang of terrorists had raided and dispossessed these communities, prior to the large-scale invasion of Mera, a village in Augie Local Government, on November 8, 2024, killing more than 20 people and fleeing with their livestock, amounting to hundreds of millions of naira.

“Senate is aware that Kebbi State government promptly responded by sending a delegation with relief materials to the affected villages and assistance to the families of the deceased.

“Aware that Senator Yahaya A. Abdullahi (Kebbi North) and Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi North Central) and Senator Garba Musa Maidoki (Kebbi South), along with some members of the House of Representatives from Kebbi State, have been to those areas, to commiserate with victims of the attacks on behalf of the National Assembly.

“Aware that if timely, adequate and decisive measures are not taken, this group can spread its reign of terror to other northern parts of the country and beyond.

“Notes the prompt response of the ministry of defence and the armed forces who despatched a well-armed military response squad that was able to dislodge the terrorists and secured the release of herds of cattle and other livestock stolen by the terrorists. These foreigners have invaded the country.

“We need to nip the situation in the bud, they have international connections, heavily armed with very dangerous weapons, the federal government should take the matter very seriously.

‘These terrorists are well armed with highly sophisticated weapons, this is a very serious matter on national security, they control the whole of Northern Mali and now attacking Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna, Niger, and others. The time to act is now, we have to take action on how to tame terrorism.”

He said the Senate should revisit past resolutions on terrorism and send them to the Presidency for immediate action.

”I want us to recall what happened in the 8th and 9th Senates. We discussed extensively how we can stem the tide of banditry and terrorism. We made far-reaching recommendations, and we asked the Executive arm of government to implement those resolutions.

“It is still relevant for us to insist that those resolutions should be implemented, if we do so, it will reduce the incidences of banditry and insurgency in the country. We can reduce it to the barest minimum.”

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