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The Borno government confirmed that at least 3,000 persons who were members of the armed opposition group have laid down their arms and surrendered to the Nigerian military. Community leaders in Borno State, on Sunday, agreed to the return of repentant' Boko Haram terrorists into their communities. Accordingly, the decision was taken at a stakeholders' meeting to discuss the prevailing security situation in the state. The meeting was organised by the government of Borno State. Governor Babagana Zulum, who presided over the meeting, disclosed that apart from the 3,000 ex-terrorists' currently in the custody of the government, another 900 confirmed members of Boko Haram have surrendered to the Cameroonian forces Zulum said the stakeholders meeting became necessary following the mixed reactions that recently trailed the mass surrender of former Boko Haram fighters The governor said the government needed to involve all stakeholders in Borno in the decision making process on how...

Former presidential aspirant, Tunde Bakare, on Sunday said the state of Nigeria does not reflect President Muhammadu Buhari that he knows. In his State of the Nation address to commemorate the 2021 Easter celebrations, Bakare said he is forced to speak out owing to what he described as Buhari’s legacy being confined to the unsavoury side of history. “I am compelled to speak out because the state of the nation does not represent the Buhari I knew when we took that solemn journey towards rebuilding Nigeria,” he tweeted. “I am compelled to speak out at this point because, given the state of the nation, the legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari is in grave danger of being confined to an unsavoury side of history. I am indeed compelled to speak out because Nigeria is in a state of emergency.” He added that Nigeria is in a state of emergency over a series of security challenges ranging from terrorism to banditry, kidnapping to militancy, cultism to human trafficking among several others. Past...

  By Wole Olaoye It is impossible to ignore Sheik Ahmad Gumi’s attempt to divide the Nigerian armed forces on religious lines. There are already so many discordant tunes at play on the national stage, but this undisguised ploy to destroy the only institution believed to still have a modicum of national cohesion is frightening. Gumi, a medical doctor, is a cleric, scholar and former captain in the Nigerian Army. He is the eldest son to late Sheik Abubakar Gumi, who was once Grand Khadi of the Northern Region of Nigeria, and head of Sultan Bello Central Mosque in Kaduna. He is credited with paving the way for the founding of the Izala sect in Jos, Plateau State, in 1978. Izala has since grown in influence and number in most parts of northern Nigeria and spread to countries like Niger, Chad and Cameroon, where Boko Haram also operates. He has, over the years, jealously courted controversies under the pretext of defending the rights of Muslims. When he appointed himself the negotiator-...

The recent abduction of 27 pupils and 15 workers of Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State by armed bandits is another demonstration of the dilapidated state of security in Nigeria and the Nigerian state’s failure to secure the lives and ensure the safety of her citizens. According to news reports, the bandits demand N500m to release the abducted students and workers held in a forest that connects Kebbi, Zamfara, Niger and the Kaduna States. Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi is said to be negotiating with the bandits. Niger State Governor Abubakar Bello Sani has vowed to do everything within his powers to ensure the students are released unhurt. This incident comes at the heels of the heinous abduction of about 400 government secondary school students, Kankara in Katsina State by bandits last December. Many Nigerians scoffed at government claims that it did not pay any ransom for the Kankara boys’ release. Interestingly, there are no records of any official inquest, arres...