General
Anti-terrorism Group Lauds Buhari, Military Counter Insurgency Efforts
By Olufemi Lawson Akindele
As the Federal government intensifies its efforts towards finding a lasting solution to the insurgencies and violent clashes in some part of the country, an amalgamation of 42 Civil Society anti-terrorism campaign groups under the auspices of the Coalition of Civil Society Groups against Terrorism in Nigeria, has lauded the effort of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in achieving noticeable landmarks in the war against terrorism and other violent activities across the country.
The group stated this in Lagos today, while releasing its quarterly report for the first quarter of year 2018, which reviewed the progress of the war against Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast and incidents of farmers/herders clashes in the North central part of the country.
Speaking at the presentation of the reports to the general public, Convener of the Coalition, Comrade Odeyemi Oladimeji, commended President Buhari for the untiring commitment towards ensuring the security of lives and properties of Nigerians, and the commitment of his administration towards promoting peace and national cohesion.
Commenting on the report, on the performance of the Nigerian Military, the Coalition lauded the neutrality of the military in the conduct of its operations, while specially appreciating officers and men of the Nigerian Army for their patriotism and professionalism, in the line of discharge of their duties.
The report took a swipe at those it described at political ‘Boko Haram’, whom it accused of emboldening the activities of the remnants of the now decimated Boko Haram terrorist group, through their utterances, mostly politically motivated statements, aimed at destabilizing the incumbent administration.
The report also frowned at situations where some states chief executives have failed to take appropriate actions to promote peace among ethnic nationalities in their states. The group also condemn the activities of some state governments arming militias who are culpable in most of these heinous crimes.
The group said it carried out independent assessment of the security situation in selected states of the Northeast and the north central, where it assessed issues of clashes between herdsmen and farmers.
It said its investigation revealed that many of those clashes have become escalated due to the inability of some governors, particularly of Benue and Taraba States, to separate the sanctity of lives of their citizens from politics, thereby rather than cooperating with the security agencies resorted to sponsoring and recruiting armed militias in their states.
The report also noted that some desperate politicians have been exploiting the security situation in those areas as a cash cow to further exploit their people rather than take steps to mitigate the crisis in order to derive both political and financial benefits.
The group further stated that against the erroneous impression being created by certain persons in the country, it discovered that the federal government has ensured a consistent deployment of the military and other security agencies in the crisis areas across the states assessed.
These deployments, it said, have yielded commendable gains of restoring peace and orderliness with the arrest and neutralization of several criminal elements responsible for the violent clashes being witnessed in the affected areas.
“We want to specially acknowledge the impact of the various intervention activities of the Nigerian Army, which include but not limited to the Operations Python Dance, Ayam Akpatuma, Lafiya Dole in the troubled parts of the country, which has led to great improvement in the security and stability for the development in those areas.”
On the alleged connivance between suspected herdsmen militias and the Nigerian soldiers in some states where there have been violent attacks on communities, the group said its finding showed that only criminal elements and their agents in power who nurse the ambition of using the military for personal duties and were rebuffed, nurse such conspiracy theories in their reasoning.
It advised Nigerians to disregard such beliefs, as it only existed in the imaginations of the accusers of the Nigerian Military.
The report demanded thorough action from the federal government in ensuring that the armed militias operating across several parts of the country are immediately disarmed and arms thoroughly mopped up, since all indications have shown that some highly placed individuals have continued to thwart efforts by the Nigerian military to mop up these criminal elements.
It also condemned some politicians, who have consistently linked the Nigerian military with inability of the government to arrest the ugly situations.
In conclusion, the group urged the military to increase its presence and sustain its various special military exercises in the troubled parts of the country, especially those areas where ‘ethnic champions’ and criminal elements have continued to create tensions.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate the court ordering the freezing of the bank account of the Osun Srate government.
In a statement today by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President said he’s “deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order” because of its timing, which is just a few days to the governorship election in the state next Saturday.
According to him, actions of an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.
“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference. I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law.
“As President, I am committed to allowing institutions of State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for any prior approval. Indeed, that is why institutions are set up by law with clearly defined powers. While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard,” the statement stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
